A study of the absorption of ionic solutes using a new class of polymeric hydrogels is reported here. These hydrogels are crosslinked using clay nanoparticles instead of the traditional crosslinking molecules. Some unique features of these clay crosslinked gels that distinguish them from their conventional counterparts include larger pore sizes and increased mechanical integrity. In addition, these particle crosslinked gels can be used as ion exchange resins since the incorporation of clay nanoparticles introduces charges into the otherwise neutral polymer gel. In particular, these gels have an extraordinary ability to soak up cationic solutes from solution due to the anionic surface of the clay platelets. Furthermore, the absorbed molecules bind preferentially around the surface of the gel, leaving the rest of the gel free of bound species. In contrast to covalently crosslinked gels, these particle crosslinked gels can be disassembled in the presence of certain organic solvents due to the non-covalent interaction between polymer and particles. Upon disassembly, these gels release the bound species which can be subsequently recovered. Finally, we describe our efforts towards the separation of particles such as carbon nanotubes and colloidal silica by size. These separations cannot be achieved using covalently crosslinked gels since their pore size is much smaller than the size of the particles of interest.