Phase separation patterned films of natural materials: Preparation of mixed monolayers of nanocellulose integrates and organo‐modified nanoclays

Abstract

Mixed monolayers of cellulose acetate and organo‐modified montmorillonite were prepared on a water surface, and their morphologies and structures were evaluated. Cellulose acetate exhibited an integrated morphology of cellulose nanofibers. A mixed monolayer of nanocellulose and organo‐modified montmorillonite was found to be a phase‐separated system in the surface pressure‐area isotherm analysis. The surface morphology of the mixed film formed a patterned surface in which clay nanoparticles and nanofibers coexisted. As the cellulose acetate ratio in the mixed film increased, the size of the clay nanoparticles decreased. The surface free energy of the mixed film was intermediate between those of the two components; however, it showed the most hydrophilic characteristic by being wettable by water. The layered structure of the mixed films showed a longer spacing value than that of the organo‐modified nanoclay film, indicating a change in orientation. In contrast, the in‐plane order was amorphous, and no improvement in periodicity or crystallinity was observed even after annealing. In addition, the clay part of the phase‐separated film exhibited selective molecular adsorption ability, and it was possible to form adsorbent patterns.

Creation of Organic/Inorganic Hybrids in Two‐Dimensional Organized Films Using Natural Materials and Control of Their Morphology

“…An earlier study confirmed that inorganic clay nanoparticles, which were originally angular, exhibited miniaturization for unknown reasons [36] . This study revealed that the interfacial monolayer spreading using DMSO promoted clay refinement.…”

“…An earlier study confirmed that inorganic clay nanoparticles, which were originally angular, exhibited miniaturization for unknown reasons. [36] This study revealed that the interfacial monolayer spreading using DMSO promoted clay refinement. Therefore, when maintaining a large rectangular clay morphology, the co-spreading method [45] from chloroform is effective; however, for clay miniaturization and to prepare a more homogeneous two-dimensional hybrid film, DMSO is preferred.…”

“…Soluble starch is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin that has been solubilized and used as amide dextrin [35] . For example, a two‐dimensional nanocellulose‐integrated film was prepared from an interfacial molecular film of cellulose acetate and used to fabricate a mixed film with organo‐modified nanoclay [36] …”

“…[35] For example, a two-dimensional nanocellulose-integrated film was prepared from an interfacial molecular film of cellulose acetate and used to fabricate a mixed film with organo-modified nanoclay. [36] In this study, we prepared a two-dimensional hybrid film from natural materials, soluble starch and organo-modified nanoclay, and investigated its morphology and function (Figure 1(c)). We also investigated the origin of clay particle refinement in the mixed films, which has not been studied earlier.…”

Achieving superior pyroresistive reproducibility at HDPE/PVDF composites with tailored conductive phase size

“…For adjusting the phase size of the conductive CB/HDPE phase in binary polymer composites, the CNC‐g‐PMMA (Figure 1C–E) is prepared and introduced into the binary polymer system. On the one hand, the introduced CNC‐g‐PMMA has one‐dimensional rod‐like structure, 43–46 which can be easily distinguished from conductive CB with zero‐dimensional structure. On the other hand, based on the minimum interfacial energy mechanism, the obtained CNC‐g‐PMMA was preferentially distributed in PVDF of the immiscible HDPE/PVDF system, which could be described by the Young's equation, 32,47 as follows: where ϒ CA , ϒ CB , and ϒ AB are the interfacial energies between the polymer A and filler C , the polymer B and filler C and between the polymer A and polymer B , respectively.…”