Preparation and characterization of self-assembly hydrogels with exfoliated montmorillonite nanosheets and chitosan

Novel montmorillonite-nanosheet/chitosan (MMTNS/CS) hydrogels fabricated via the self-assembly of exfoliated MMTNS and CS chains were investigated. The exfoliation of MMTNS, self-assembly mechanism and structure of MMTNS/CS hydrogels were characterized by an atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscope, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscope and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analyzer, respectively. The results indicated that MMT could be easily exfoliated to nanosheets with a thickness of 1 ∼ 5 nm in aqueous solution by an ultrasonic base upon interlayer hydration. The formation mechanism of the self-assembly hydrogels was due to the hydrogen bond (-OH ··· +NH3-) and electrostatic interaction between the MMTNS and CS. The MMTNSs were connected consecutively by CS in-plane to form a huge slice. The porous structure of the hydrogels was controllable by adjusting the MMTNS/CS mass ratio. The hydrogels could be used as adsorbents for sewage treatments, carriers for drugs, microorganisms and catalyzers due to their controllable porous structure and tremendous specific surface area which were derived from the completely exfoliated MMTNS.