ИСТИНА

The present study is devoted to soft nanocomposite based on network of wormlike micelles (WLMs) composed of zwitterionic and anionic surfactants with embedded plate-like bentonite nanoclay particles. It is shown that nanoparticles enhance significantly the rheological properties of WLM hydrogel acting as physical cross-links between micellar chains. It was explained by the formation of micelle-nanoparticle junctions as a result of binding of the WLMs end-caps to the layer of surfactant adsorbed on the particle surface. The networks under study possess gel-like properties. In particular, their rheological properties demonstrate plateau modulus, low values of loss factor. At the same time, under high deformation, the micellar chains are disrupted, which induces a much more pronounced drop of viscosity than the disruption of physical cross-links in polymer gels. The disrupted micellar chains were completely recovered due to restoration of non-covalent bonds between surfactant molecules within the micelle. It was demonstrated that the prepared nanocomposite hydrogels possess promising properties for injection applications and can be used as controlled release delivery systems. This work was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project N 17-13-01535).