Patent ID: 8007895

Claim:
A transparent material as a film: comprising (1) a synthetic layered clay and a water-soluble resin; (2) the weight ratio of the layered clay being not less than 70% relative to total solids; the film has (3) a total light transmissivity exceeding 80% as determined by JIS k7105: 1981; (4) gas barrier properties; and (5) mechanical strength so as to allow it to be used as a self-supporting film, wherein the water-soluble resin is one or more selected from the group consisting of dextrin, starch, a cellulose resin, gelatin, polylactic acid, an alkyd resin, a polyurethane resin, a epoxy resin, fluororesins, an acrylic resin, a methacrylic resin, a phenolic resin, a polyamide resin, a polyester resin, a polyimide resin, a polyvinyl resin, polycarbonate, polyethylene glycol, polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, a protein, deoxyribonucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, a polyamino acid, a benzoic acid compound, and an acrylic acid resin, wherein the weight proportion of the water-soluble resin relative to total solids is less than 30%, wherein the light transmissivity of the film at 500 nm is not less than 75%, as measured by an ultraviolet-visible spectroscope, after heating at 200° C. for 1 hour under normal air conditions, and wherein the average surface roughness of the film is not greater than 20 nm, as measured by an atomic force microscope.