Montmorillonite clay fine particles containing alkylammonium or pyridinium guests have been observed to be highly dispersed and aligned in thin films of sol-gel polysilicate networks spin-coated on quartz slide glasses. Polarized UV and visible spectroscopic analyses of the films indicate that the organic guests are aligned not only with the interlayer surfaces of the clays but also with the sol-gel polysilicate thin films. SEM and XRD observations also confirm the anisotropic disposition of the guest molecules in the composite thin films. This is in stark contrast to the case of randomly oriented clay films prepared by the casting of the suspension on slides without any matrix.
Simultaneous one‐pot syntheses of PA66 and HAp were carried out by extracting H2O and CO2 from PA66 monomers and HAp raw materials, respectively, resulting in the formation of a polyamide (PA) 66‐hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocomposite. During the process, a spherical nano‐sized HAp particle was precipitated following dissolution of micro‐sized CaHPO4・2H2O. The PA66 monomers were subsequently adsorbed onto the generated HAp product. Some of the adsorbed PA66 monomers formed a bound polymer on HAp, and an increase in the adhesiveness of the PA66‐HAp interface was observed as the polymerization progressed. During this process, the synthesis of a nanocomposite from a micro‐sized raw material and creation of an autonomous strong interface between the matrix and filler was achieved. In addition, the shape of the resultant HAp was controllable and could be modified to needle shape by the addition of F− and Mg2+ ions to the raw material. HAp could also be changed to plate shape via octa‐calcium phosphate (OCP). Notably, during the synthesis, the filler shape of the nanocomposite could be controlled to 0D (particle), 1D (needle), and 2D (plate).
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