Organoclay exfoliated sheets

Fig. 8.6 TEM images of (A) exfoliated sheets of AMP in water (scale bar = 200 nm), and (B) cryo-TEM image of exfoliated AMP organoclay sheets viewed edge-on (scale bar = 50nm).

Fig. 8.18 Schematic diagram showing the potential scope of organically functionalized magnesium phyllosilicate (shown in top centre of figure) for the preparation of functional bioinorganic nanomaterials. (A) biomolecule-induced co-assembly of exfoliated aminopro-pyl-functionalized organoclay sheets to produce layered nanocomposites containing functional protein molecules (top left) or DNA (bottom left). (B) molecular wrapping...

Nanohybrids can be prepared in the form of intercalated layered nanocomposites produced by co-assembly of guest biomolecules in the presence of exfoliated organoclay sheets (Section 8.4), or by wrapping single biomolecules in ultrathin layers of condensed organoclay oligomers (Section 8.5). Such approaches should provide new general routes towards the development of functional biomaterials with numerous applications. 

The most commonly studied polymer nanocomposites are clay-based nanocomposites, mainly with montmorillonite (MMt) as layered silicate filler (Scheme 15.12). Upon incorporation of organomodihed clays (organoclays) into a polymer matrix, two nanomorphologies (Scheme 15.13) can be obtained, either intercalation of the polymer chain in between the clay platelets keeping the stacking of the sheets, or exfoliation of the clay platelets with a disordered dispersion of the inorganic sheets in the polymer. 

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