Absorbent articles including hipe foam enhanced with clay nanoplatelets, and method of manufacture
AssigneeThe Procter & Gamble Company
InventorsMaxwell Joseph WINGERT, Josef BREU, Lina MAYR, Steven Ray MERRIGAN, Arsen Arsenov SIMONYAN
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Open-cell foam having a structure of interconnected struts formed of polymeric material and defining open cells, resulting from polymerization of a continuous phase of a high internal phase water-in-oil emulsion, the struts comprising the polymeric material with clay nanoparticles at least partially captured therewithin, is disclosed. The clay nanoparticles may be present in combination with a surface modifier. Methods for making the open-cell foam are also disclosed. Absorbent articles including the open cell foam are also disclosed.
Claims13
A method for manufacturing a suspension of clay particles in an organic liquid, comprising the steps of:
- i) blending dry clay nanoparticles with a medium comprising predominantly water to create an aqueous first suspension of the clay nanoparticles;
- ii) providing a first solution of an oligomeric surface modifier in an organic solvent, wherein the organic solvent is miscible in water;
- iii) blending the first solution with the first suspension, and thereby causing the oligomeric surface modifier to attach to surfaces of the suspended clay nanoparticles to render the surfaces organophilic, and thereby creating a second suspension of organophilized clay nanoparticles;
- and
- iv) removing a majority of the water from the second suspension to create a third suspension of organophilized nanoparticles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.