The natural clays Manias refers to are bentonites and montmorillonites that are already in use in paints to prevent dripping, cosmetics to prevent shine and in pharmaceuticals. Because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already approve them for use, there is no problem incorporating them into plastics that come in contact with foods, medicines, beverages or plastics used in biomedical devices. The polymer clay blends, while containing only 1 to 5 percent clay, are actually nanocomposites. The addition of clay into the polymer blend does not alter the normal production and processing of the clayless polymer. The thermodynamics drive the nanometer dispersion of the clay through the polymer and the small amounts of clay do not cause any wear in the equipment.
Manufacturers can use the same equipment, timing and settings as in their normal process.
While natural and synthetic clays provide a broad possibility of enhances plastics, Manias is also looking at polymer nanocomposites that contain platelets of metal and ceramic nanoparticles instead of clay. These ultra-small fillers require different surfactants and offer much more flexibility in property tailoring, where cost can be slightly increased. The Penn State researcher has reported on his work in a variety of journals including Advances in Polymer Science, Chemistry of Materials and Macromolecules.