Tapioca starch, poly(lactic acid), and Cloisite NA+ nanocomposite foams, with four clay contents (1, 3, 5, 7, wt %), were prepared by melt-intercalation method. Selected structural, thermal, physical, and mechanical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and an Instron universal testing machine, respectively....

Layered hydroxide nanoparticles are generally biocompatible, and less toxic than most inorganic nanoparticles, making them an acceptable alternative drug delivery system. Due to growing concern over animal welfare and the expense of in vivo experiments both the public and the government are interested to find alternatives to animal testing. The toxicity potential of zinc aluminum layered hydrox...

The P123/ACP nanocomposite with sizes less than 100 nm consisting of triblock copolymer P123 and amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) has been prepared by using an aqueous solution containing CaCl2, (NH4)3PO4, and P123 at room temperature. The P123/ACP nanocomposite is used as the nanocarrier for hydrophobic drug ibuprofen, based on the combined advantages of both amphiphilic block copolymer and c...

In this report, a novel chemical synthesis of polyaniline/gold nanocomposite is explored using ionic liquid (IL) 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate. The direct chemical synthesis of polyaniline/gold nanocomposite was initiated via the spontaneous oxidation of aniline by AuCl(4) (-) in IL. A nearly uniform dispersion of polyaniline/Au particles with a diameter of 450 ± 80 nm was pro...

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles synthesized via microwave irradiation. Polypyrrole (PPy)/HAp nanocomposite was obtained using electropolymerization on nitinol (Ni) titanium (Ti) substrates. Fourier transform infrared was employed to characterize the nanocomposite formation. Electrochemical properties of the nanocomposite were investigated using polarization and electrochemical impedance spec...

The work presented here demonstrates using a novel, field-responsive nanocomposite based on shear thickening fluids (STFs) as responsive protective materials with superior damping and energy adsorption properties. Peak forces and accelerations measured using an instrumented Instron drop tower demonstrate that STF nanocomposite prototypes and impact foam taken from a commercial football helmet h...

In this article, a facile strategy is developed to synthesize a nanocomposite containing both a rare earth doped upconversion nanoparticle (RE-UCNP) and gold nanoparticles (GNPs). Such a nanocomposite can serve as a dual-modal imaging agent for upconversion luminescence (UCL) imaging and photoacoustic tomography (PAT). High spatial resolution, 3-dimensional imaging of blood vessels could be ach...

The study describes an in situ green biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanocomposite using the seaweed Sargassum muticum water extract and hyaluronan biopolymer. The morphology and optical properties of the hyaluronan/zinc oxide (HA/ZnO) nanocomposite were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron micros...

Fe(3)O(4) coated polypyrrole (PPy) magnetic nanocomposite was prepared via in situ polymerization of pyrrole monomer for the removal of highly toxic Cr(VI). Structure and morphology of the prepared nanocomposite were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction pattern, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) an...

Highly sensitive graphene-based gas sensors can be made using large-area single layer graphene, but the cost of large-area pure graphene is high, making the simpler reduced graphene oxide (rGO) an attractive alternative. To use rGO for gas sensing, however, require a high active surface area and slightly different approach is needed. Here, we report on a simple method to produce kaolin-graphene...