Abstract
Crack formation and its possible prevention or remedy is an important branch of material science, closely related to study of granular materials and soft matter physics. This work reports a study on cracking behaviour in composites of bentonite and Laponite® in varying proportions. Both components are clays of the montmorillonite group. Our experiments demonstrate that for the particular composition - Laponite® : bentonite ∼1:1, cracks are totally absent. If either component exceeds the other, cracks develop. This is demonstrated over a range of film thickness. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of the films at different compositions indicate that at this particular ratio, the much smaller particles of Laponite®, pack into the spaces between the bentonite platelets perfectly, to form a defect-free smooth film.
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