Clay aerogels are high porosity and low density materials prepared by the freeze-drying of aqueous clay gels.  While unmodified clay aerogels show poor mechanical properties due to the lack of an energy dissipation mechanism, the incorporation of polymers has greatly improved their moduli and fracture toughness.  Block copolymers that are made of hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments could self-assemble into different micelle/vesicle structures in selective solvents.  Above a critical concentration, multi-block copolymers could form stable physical gels in aqueous solution.  Incorporating the self-assembled physical gels into clay gels could provide a well-defined energy dissipation mechanism, yielding aerogel composites with improved mechanical strengths.  The success of this strategy depends on the block copolymer morphology when interacting with clay layers and during the freeze-dry process.  This study will investigate the multi-block copolymer morphology in water when interacting with clay layers, as well as its influence on the final structure and mechanical properties of clay aerogel composites.

Multi-block copolymers/clay aerogel composites via freeze-drying

248th National Meeting (2014)

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