0000000000199371
AUTHOR
Vanessa Bertolino
Biopolymer-Targeted Adsorption onto Halloysite Nanotubes in Aqueous Media.
Studies on the adsorption of biopolymers onto halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) in water were conducted. Three polymers with different charges-anionic (pectin), neutral (hydroxypropyl cellulose), and cationic (chitosan)-were chosen. The thermodynamic parameters for the adsorption of polymers onto the HNT surface were determined by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The experimental data were interpreted based on a Langmuir adsorption model. The standard variations in free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of the process were obtained and discussed. Turbidimetry was used to evaluate the stability of functionalized nanoparticles in water. The ζ-potential clarified the surface charge properties of …
Polysaccharides/Halloysite nanotubes for smart bionanocomposite materials.
Biopolymers as alternative to fossils-derived polymers are attracting the interest of researcher in material science. Besides the economic advantages, the sustainability makes polysaccharides ideal candidates to prepare films and formulations. The addition of Halloysite nanotubes as green inorganic fillers was exploited to improve the physico-chemical properties and to introduce smart response abilities to the material. Halloysite is a natural tubular nanomaterial with hollow cavity and large aspect ratio. The effect of polymer charge on the morphology and mesoscopic properties of polysaccharides/halloysite nanocomposites has been highlighted. Different strategies (solvent casting, lyophili…
Halloysite nanotubes sandwiched between chitosan layers: novel bionanocomposites with multilayer structures
This work is a contribution to the design of multilayer biocomposites based on halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and chitosan. Both the polymer and nanotubular inorganic additive have been selected among easily available green materials. An innovative preparation procedure based on the sequential casting of chitosan and HNTs has been proposed in order to obtain multilayer composite biofilms. A physico-chemical investigation (contact angle measurements, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry) has been conducted to characterize the bionanocomposites. As evidenced by scanning electron microscopy, the nanocomposites possess an intermediate halloysite layer between the chitosan ones. The …
Effect of the Biopolymer Charge and the Nanoclay Morphology on Nanocomposite Materials
This work represents a contribution to the design, preparation, and characterization of nanocomposite materials based on biocompatible components. The effects of composition, filler geometry, and polymer charge were highlighted, and their role on the final properties of the nanocomposites was revealed. We combined some biopolymers (methylcellulose, alginate, chitosan) with two nanoclays (kaolinite sheets and halloysite nanotubes) to prepare nanocomposites by means of the casting method from water. The thermal stability, the surface wettability, and the mechanical properties of the obtained films were studied. SEM micrographs highlighted the surface morphology of the biocomposite materials. …
Crystallinity of block copolymer controlled by cyclodextrin
We report a differential scanning calorimetry study to investigate the effect of cyclodextrins (CD) on the crystallinity of a copolymer. Tetronics was selected as copolymer with star-like shape formed by four polyethylene oxide flanked by four polypropylene oxide blocks linked to ethylenediamine central group. The use of CD with different cavity size was exploited for a block selective inclusion. A model for supramolecular association was considered for a quantitative description of the enthalpy data. The polymer chain incorporation into the CD cavity generates a loss of crystallinity. The stoichiometry of the CD/copolymer aggregates can be tuned by changing the CD cavity size. The investig…