Preparation and Characterization of an Alginate/Clay Nanocomposite for Optoelectronic Application

摘要

Sodium Alginate/bentonite clay nanocomposites were prepared by solution casting method. The electrical properties (Conductivity, Dielectric constant) of the nanocomposites were investigated by standard methods with Impedance Analyzer. The thermal, physical and mechanical properties of sodium alginate/bentonite clay nanocomposite were investigated by Thermo-Mechanical Analyzer (TMA), X-ray Deffraction (XRD) and Universal Testing Machine respectively. Water absorption properties of the sodium alginate/clay nanocomposite were found to decrease with the increase of clay content. Tensile Strength (TS) and Elongation at break (Eb) of 2% clay containing nanocomposite film were found to be 7.6 MPa and 55% respectively. The electrical properties were found to improve with the incorporation of bentonite clay. The XRD demonstrates the enhancing crystallinity of sodium alginate/bentonite clay nanocomposite with the increasing clay content. TMA results showed a higher thermal stability in the nanocomposite. All of the results indicate that the developed nanocomposite is promising for use in a wide variety of optoelectronic applications.