In recent years, Pillared InterLayered Clays (PILCs) have been widely used in several applications; in particular in adsorption and catalysis. The research interest in this family of solids has increased considerably. Clay minerals provide distinct nanometer-scaled layers and interlayers for engineering them as active catalysts. As such, strategic design and preparation has led to a variety of ...

The mechanical properties of non-vulcanized natural rubber and dialyzed natural rubber-clay nanocomposites have been studied by uniaxial deformations to evaluate the reinforcement efficiency of the clay. We show that while non-rubber molecules contribute to auto-reinforcement, removal of these molecules improves significantly the performance of clay as reinforcement agent. These mechanical prop...

[1] To understand the aqueous history of Mars, it is critical to constrain the alteration mineralogy of the Martian surface. Previously published analyses of thermal infrared (l = 6–25 mm) remote sensing data of Mars suggest that dark regions have 15–20% clay minerals. However, near-infrared (l = 1–3 mm) spectral results generally do not identify widespread clay minerals. Thermal infrared detec...

This study investigates the removal of tungsten from simulated water using biopolymer coated particles (i.e. chitosan coated clay) and natural clay. The effects of initial tungsten concentration (from 20 to 500 ppm) and water pH (4, 5.5 and 6.4) on zeta potential and tungsten removal were studied for both chitosan coated clay and natural clay. It was found that the net surface charge of natural...

Chimpanzees of the Sonso community, Budongo Forest, Uganda were observed eating clay and drinking clay-water from waterholes. We show that clay, clay-rich water, and clay obtained with leaf sponges, provide a range of minerals in different concentrations. The presence of aluminium in the clay consumed indicates that it takes the form of kaolinite. We discuss the contribution of clay geophagy to...

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) has been recently found to be an efficient renewable and environmentally-friendly flame retardant. In this work, for the first time, we have used waste DNA from fishing industry to modify clay structure in order to increase the clay interactions with epoxy resin and take benefit of its additional thermal property effect on thermo-physical properties of epoxy-clay nan...

Hybrids based on recycled high density polyethylene (RHDPE) and organic clay were made by melt compounding. The influence of blending method, compatibilizers, and clay content on clay intercalation and exfoliation, RHDPE crystallization behavior, and the mechanical properties of RHDPE/clay hybrids were investigated. Both maleated polyethylene (MAPE) and titanate could improve the compatibilizat...