Modification and functionalization of nanomaterials by
a facile
way are critical for their practical application in many areas. In
this work, hydrophobic modified halloysite nanotubes (mHNTs) were
efficiently prepared by a ball milling method; then, the mHNTs were
used to stabilize oil/water emulsions. Polytetrafluoroethylene in
the wall of milling jars adhered to the surfaces of HNTs during the
milling process, which changed the hydrophilicity and electrical properties
of HNTs. The milling process reduced the length of the tubes and promoted
the transformation of the 1D tubes into 2D sheets morphology. mHNTs
were then employed as solid particles on the oil–water interface
for preparing Pickering emulsions. The morphology and rheological
behavior indicated that the oil/water emulsion stability improved
with the increasing mHNT concentration and milling time. SEM images
showed that the emulsion network became denser with the increasing
milling time of mHNTs, which led to the increased stability of the
emulsions. In addition, the antibacterial properties of HNT–cassia
oil emulsions were investigated. Owing to the uniform distribution
and slow release of cassia oil, mHNT-stabilized emulsions exhibited
improved antibacterial performance. This work demonstrated that hydrophobic
HNTs prepared by ball-milling method show proper wettability, controlled
delivery behavior, and scaling-up ability, which have promising applications
in Pickering emulsions and food preservation.
Polyurethane (PU) sponge with high elasticity and reproducibility
shows promising application in flexible electronic devices. However,
the poor conductivity and high flammability limit its application
field, which also pose a potential threat to human health. Here, a
flexible sponge sensor based on PU and polypyrrole-wrapped halloysite
nanotubes (PPy@HNTs) was successfully fabricated by the dip coating
technology. The PPy-modified HNTs showed strong binding ability on
the PU sponge by employing N,N-dimethylformamide
(DMF) as an interfacial solvent. PPy@HNTs can well adhere on the surface
of the PU sponge, which endow excellent structural stability to the
flexible sponge sensor after 5000 cycles. The response and recovery
times during the sensitivity experiment of the flexible sponge sensor
are 265.63 and 265.62 ms, respectively. The flexible sponge sensor
can effectively detect various physical activities, such as walking,
facial expression, and gesture. It can be used as an analytical balance
for quality monitoring. Moreover, the flexible sponge sensor exhibits
excellent photothermal performance, which is reflected in the good
relationship between resistance change and laser irradiation time
as well as power intensity. The coating of PPy@HNTs also significantly
improved the flame retardancy of the PU sponge. This work developed
a mild, high-efficiency, and simple preparation method of flexible
sponge sensors, and the prepared sensor displayed multifunctional
applications such as biological detection and electronic balances.
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