Structural Analysis of ZnO Nanoparticles Reinforced P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) Bioplastic Composite

摘要

Bioplastics are gaining interest due to their biodegradable and biocompatible nature which can be used as a replacement for petroleum based plastics. Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-15 mol% 3-hydroxyhexanoate) [P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx)]/ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) blended bioplastic films were fabricated by solution casting method using chloroform as solvent. The structural characteristics such as peak intensity analysis, crystallite size, dislocation density, and texture coefficient of ZnO NPs mixed P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) samples were studied using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) analyses. It is clear from the XRD analyses that the crystallinity of P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) was decreased considerably as ZnO NPs concentration increased. The crystallite size of P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) was decreased with an increase in ZnO NPs concentration and observed within 150 nm and the dislocation density was decreased with respect to the orientation of P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) crystals. Simultaneously, the structural properties of ZnO NPs in P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) matrix were affected noticeably with respect to the ZnO NPs and copolymer concentrations. The characteristic peak positions from FTIR spectra of P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) copolymer shifted towards higher frequency and evidenced the existence of structural defects. Overall, it was found from both XRD and FTIR analyses that the presence of ZnO NPs affected the crystallinity of P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) copolymer due to the formation of intermolecular bonds, which restricted the preferential orientation of P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) molecules which was observed from the texture coefficient analyses. Based on these observations, ZnO NPs at low concentrations can be used with P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx) copolymer effectively and the resulting composite may be used for packaging application.