Nanoclay greatly

Several experiments have been reported in the literature involving rubber-nanoclay composites, with the observation of improved mechanical and thermal properties. The addition of small amounts of the nanoclay greatly improved the thermal stability and swelling behaviour, which was attributed to the good barrier properties of the dispersed and partially exfoliated organo clay particles. ... 

Effects of nanoclay and silica in mbber matrices have been discussed in earlier chapters. Recently, several other nanofillers have been investigated and have shown a lot of promise. All these fillers have not been investigated on rubbers extensively, although they have great potential to do so in the days to come. In this chapter, we have compiled the current research on mbber nanocomposites having nanofillers other than nanoclay and nanosilica. Further, this chapter provides a snapshot of the current experimental and theoretical tools being used to advance our understanding of mbber nanocomposites. 

Two-dimensional, disc-shaped nanomaterials are the last class of nanomaterials to be discussed in more detail. Though a great variety of nanodiscs, nanosheets and nanoplatelets based on metals [256], metal oxides [257-260], graphene [261], or semiconductors [262] are frequently described in the literature, the vast majority of studies in liquid crystal systems dealt with some form of nanoclay. 

The thermosetting polymer may also be the host of a variety of NPs such as POSS, CNTs, and nanoclays [21]. Self-healing thermosetting polymers with potential applications in paints and coatings have been developed [27, 28]. Thermosetting polymers also have a great potential as shape-memory actuators [29, 30]. 

As a result of the existing manufacturing techniques, a great amount of nanomaterials such as nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, SiO and nanoclay is currently available and the use of fiber-reinforced polymer nanocomposites in practical applications is continuously growing. It has been reported in the literature that nanoclays account for approximately 70% of the total volume of commercially used nanomaterials [8]. 

In the previous section, it was outlined how the thermal stability of bio-nanocom-posites is more related to the type and to the modification of the nanopaiticle dispersed within the hiopolymer, than to do with any reinforcement effect attributable to the nanoparticle. Different nanoparficles have different effects on the thermal stability of biopolymers. Nanoclay can greatly enhance the thermal stability of a number of different biopolymers—PLA [48,63], POL [67], starch [68,69] and PHBV [65]. As... 

In the USA the National Institute of Science and Technology has discovered that the dispersion of a very small quantity of carbon nanotubes into PP greatly reduces the flammability of the polymer. An alternative approach to flame resistance is offered by the US PolyOne Corporation which supplies a range of nanoclay-based additives. These Nanoblend additives are claimed to be able to boost the fire resistance of flame-retardant PE and PP. 

Many of the characteristic parameters, in obtained nanocomposites, were increased in their values by the addition of nanofiller. The viscosity and the storage modulus of PU/MWCNT and PU/Nanoclay systems increased in comparison to the unmodified polymer. In turn, for PU/POSS nanocomposites a strong influence of this type of nanofiller was observed, on glass transition temperature and PU toughness. Only for PU nanocomposites containing MWCNT and nanoclay, nonlinear viscoelastic behavior was observed. Generally, small filler particles maximize the interfacial area and provide great reinforcement. However, for the POSS nanofiller, the authors didn t observe such improvement, because this nanoparticles, in a polyurea matrix, doesn t behave like a conventional nanofiller, but rather like a chemically reactive additive [49],... 

Though silicate-layered nanoclays have clearly been the most used nanosized reinforcement in the preparation of PU nanocomposite foams, a great number of researchers have recently considered the addition of carbon-based nanoparticles, particularly carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), and graphene, mainly driven by the intrinsically high mechanical and especially high transport properties of these materials, which have opened up a new set of possibilities in sectors such as electronics (Shaffer and Sandler 2007 Singh et al., 2011). 

Owing to the particular high transport properties of carbon-based nanofillers, a great number of recent publications have considered the incorporation of these nanofillers into flexible PU foams, as opposed to silicate-layered nanoclays, which are mainly added as mechanical reinforcements and for that reason are almost only considered for rigid PU foams. The addition of carbon-based nanofillers comes from the interest in developing new functional flexible foams, for instance with improved piezoresistivity properties. 

Therefore, many studies have attempted to alleviate the worsened mechanical and thermal properties through the inclusion of fillers. Several kinds of fillers used in research have included nanoclay fillers (Haq et al., 2008 Zhang et al., 2013 Swain et al., 2012 Albayrak et al., 2013), microfiber celluloses (Shibata and Nakai, 2010 Bitinis et al., 2013 Pandey et al., 2013), and basaltic fibers (Torres et al., 2013). Compared to other fillers, nanoclay fillers have gained great popularity due to their attractive platelet-like nanostructures. The unique structure and property of nanoclay fillers have resulted in the manufacture of numerous polymer/clay nanocomposites as reviewed by Alexander and Dubois (2000). 

This chapter aims to review the developments of biobased polymer/clay nanocomposites comprising general fabrication techniques and optimization of mixture homogeneity in solutions. Furfliermore, the effects of interactions between biopolymer matrices and nanoclays on structural, mechanical, and thermal properties, and biode-gradabUity of currently available biobased polymer nanocomposites are reviewed. Finally, future trends are also summarized for such nanocomposites with great enhancements of mechanical, thermal, and biodegradable properties. 

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