By combining clays, such as montmorillonite, with polymers in aqueous solutions, suspensions, emulsion or latexes, followed by freeze drying, a wide range of foam-like aerogels can be produced. The frozen ice crystals give rise to the void space in the aerogels, while the ice crystal grain boundries are filled with the polymer/clay nanocomposites. The effects of compositions, processing conditions, and additives will be discussed, as will the fundamental mechanics of such low density composite materials.

Polymer/clay nanocomposites in the form of aerogels

251st National Meeting (2016)

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