Hybrid materials: Magnetite-Polyethylenimine-Montmorillonite, as magnetic adsorbents for Cr(VI) water treatment.

Hybrid materials formed by the combination of a sodium rich Montmorillonite (MMT), with magnetite nanoparticles (40 nm, Fe(3)O(4) NPs) coated with Polyethylenimine polymer (PEI 800 g/mol or PEI 25000 g/mol) were prepared. The intercalation of the magnetite nanoparticles coated with PEI among MMT platelets was achieved by cationic exchange. The resulting materials presented a high degree of exfoliation of the MMT sheets and a good dispersion of Fe(3)O(4) NPs on both the surface and among the layers of MMT.

Nanocomposite microcontainers.

Versatile all-nanocomposite capped microcontainers are made using layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. The microcontainers can act as inert packaging with slow/controlled release for virtually any type of encapsulating material based on clay nanocomposites 3D molded by PDMS templates and capped with another LBL film.

Bioinspired actuated adhesive patterns of liquid crystalline elastomers.

Gecko-inspired arrays of micropillars made of a liquid crystalline elastomer display thermoswitchable adhesive behavior as a consequence of elongation changes caused by reorientation of the mesogens at the nematic-isotropic (N-I) phase transition.