Gelatin/montmorillonite (MMT) hybrid nanocomposite was directly prepared with unmodified MMT and gelatin aqueous solution. Thermal and mechanical properties of the composite were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile tests. The results indicated that an intercalated or partially exfoliated nanocomposite could be achieved, and the properties of the composite were significantly improved. A T g peak of high temperature disappeared in the DSC curve of the composite, and the thermogravity and thermally decomposed rate decreased obviously. The tensile strength and Young's modulus were also improved notably, which varied with MMT content, as well as the pH of gelatin matrix. Meanwhile, SEM photographs showed a plasticizing trend of gelatin fracture surface due to intercalation with MMT. Furthermore, the wet mechanical behavior was initially studied.
Magnetic resonance is considered to be a necessary condition for metamaterial perfect absorbers, and dual-band absorbers can be composed of a pair of metallic layers with anti-parallel surface currents. We designed and fabricated a tunable dual-band perfect absorber based on extraordinary-optical-transmission (EOT) effect and Fabry-Perot cavity resonance. The idea and the mechanism are completely different from the absorber based on the near-field interaction. The important advantage of our structure is that we can switch a single-band absorber to a dual-band absorber by changing the distance between two metallic layers and/or incident angle. The peak originating from the EOT effect becomes significantly narrower, resulting in an increase of the Q-factor from 16.88 to 49. The dual-band absorber can be optimized to be insensitive to the polarization of the incident electromagnetic wave by slightly modifying the absorber structure.
Gelatin/montmorillonite (MMT) hybrid nanocomposites with improved thermal and mechanical properties were prepared in a previous work. The swelling behavior (swelling rate, swelling kinetics, maximum solvent uptake, etc.) of the obtained composites was investigated. The results showed that the swelling process of the composites followed second-order kinetics identical to those of the original gelatin. The swelling rate and maximum solvent uptake were greatly suppressed by the presence of MMT and were dependent on the MMT content and pH of the gelatin matrix. Moreover, the swelling mechanism of the polyelectrolyte-intercalated nanocomposites was examined.
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