Project description:

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials with well-defined morphology and controlled structure on nanometric scale represent a very interesting class of materials due to their use in a wide range of advanced technologies as well as more conventional applications. Different methods to prepare the hybrid nanostructures are presented in the scientific literature and are classified according to the reaction medium (organic or inorganic) and its role on the final morphology of the gel. The clays are widely used to prepare hybrid organic-inorganic materials due to their ease of procurement, ease of processing and low cost. From the wide domain of hybrid materials, the researches from the present project focus on the organic-inorganic materials in water or in water/alcohol mixture, respectively polymer gels containing clay. Unlike the solid nanocomposites, those in the gel state have a wide range of applications including biomimetic materials, actuators and sensors, rechargeable batteries based on lithium, cosmetics, controlled drug delivery, paints, coatings, etc.

The purpose of the present project is:
a) the acquirement of new knowledge regarding the gelation mechanism;
b) to establish the complex phenomena that appear in the gels microstructure;
c) to determine the influence of the interactions between the gels components on the properties corresponding to the desired applications (actuators and pharmaceutically products).