Clay-based microscopic materials developed by University of Missouri researchers may hold the key to the future of synthetic materials chemistry. These nanoclays, which enable scientists to create chemical layers tailored to deliver specific tasks based on the goals of the individual researcher, can be used in a wide range of applications, including the medical field and environmental science.
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The material’s electrically charged surface is a critical component, according to Gary Baker, Co-Principal Investigator on the project and an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry.
Imagine a koosh ball where the thousands of rubber strands radiating from the ball’s core each sport an electrically charged bead on the end. It’s analogous to a magnet — positively charged things will stick to negatively charged things.
Gary Baker, Co-Principal Investigator and Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri
Gary Baker adds, “For instance, positively charged nanoclays could attract a group of harmful fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’ which are negatively charged. Or, by making the nanoclay negatively charged, it can stick to things such as heavy metal ions like cadmium, which are positively charged, and help remove them from a contaminated body of water.”
Each nanoclay can be customized with various chemical components, such as mixing and matching different parts, in addition to the electrical charge. As a result, they can be used to create diagnostic sensors for biomedical imaging or the detection of explosives and arms.
Essentially, these nanoclays represent chemical building blocks designed with specific functions which are assembled into extremely thin, two-dimensional microscopic sheets—thinner than a strand of human DNA and 100,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. We can customize the function and shape of the chemical components presented at the surface of the nanoclay to make whatever we want to build. We’ve just exposed the tip of the iceberg for what these materials can do.
Gary Baker, Co-Principal Investigator and Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri
Two-dimensional materials are highly desired as they can introduce completely different surface properties than the object beneath and can superficially coat the outside of a bulky object in a thin, conformal layer.
By mixing and matching a few things like different ions or gold nanoparticles, we can quickly design chemistry that’s never existed before, and the more we tailor it, the more it opens a wider range of applications.
Gary Baker, Co-Principal Investigator and Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri
Nathaniel Larm at the United States Naval Academy; Durgesh Wagle at Florida Gulf Coast University; Piyuni Ishtaweera and Angira Roy at MU are the Co-Authors of the study.