Polymer clay

To prepare stable emulsions ia this way gelation of the continuous medium is necessary. The appearance of a Hquid emulsion may be retained by choosing a polymer for the continuous phase, giving a thixotropic solution with short breakdown and buildup times. The polymers used for this purpose are natural gums (qv) or synthetic polymers. Clay particles also act as viscosity enhancers. The members of the bentonite family derived from... 

Micro-composites are formed when the polymer chain is unable to intercalate into the silicate layer and therefore phase separated polymer/clay composites are formed. Their properties remain the same as the conventional micro-composites as shown in Figure 2(a). Intercalated nano-composite is obtained when the polymer chain is inserted between clay layers such that the interlayer spacing is expanded, but the layers still bear a well-defined spatial relationship to each other as shown in Figure 2(b). Exfoliated nano-composites are formed when the layers of the day have been completely separated and the individual layers are distributed throughout the organic matrix as shown in Figure 2(c). 

Meneghetti, P. and Qutubuddin, S. 2006. Synthesis, thermal properties and applications of polymer-clay nanocomposites. Thermochimica Acta 442 74-77. 

Okada, A. and Usuki, A. 2006. Twenty years of polymer-clay nanocomposites. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering 291 1449-1476. 

Many different polymers have already been used to synthesize polymer-clay nanocomposites. In this section, an overview of the advances that have been made during the last 10 years in the intercalation and the delamination of organoclay in different polymeric media is given. The discussion mainly covers the work involving thermoset nanocomposites along with a brief discussion about thermoplastic-based nanocomposites. 

Pinnavaia, T.J. and Beall, G.W. Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites, Wiley United Kingdom, 2000. 

FIG. 2 Schematic illustration of three types of polymer-clay composites. 

There are three general approaches to the synthesis of polymer-clay nanocomposites. In the first approach, a monomer or precursor is mixed with organophilic clay and followed by polymerization. This in situ polymerization technique was first developed by the... 

A. Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites Synthesized from Monomers... 

As reflected in this chapter, most of the published literature on polymer-clay nanocomposites focuses on synthesis and characterization. Future work should address is-... 

Wilson, A. D. Crisp, S. (1977). Polymer-clay compounds and soil treatment. 

TJ. Pinnavaia and G.W. Beall, Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites, John Wiley Sons, Inc., New York, NY (2001). 

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