Ultrasonic-assisted fabrication and characterization of PVC-SiO2 nanocomposites having bovine serum albumin as a bio coupling agent

摘要

In this work, SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were modified with bovine serum albumin (BSA) under ultrasound irradiations as a green and fast route to achieve their good dispersion. Subsequently, different weight percentages of the modified NPs (3, 6, and 9 wt%) were incorporated in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as the matrix. Thermogravimetric analysis of the SiO2-BSA NPs indicated that 12 wt% of the modifier was loaded on the surface of SiO2 NPs. Encapsulation of the SiO2-BSA resulted in a meaningful improvement in the optical, mechanical and thermal characteristics of the prepared PVC nanocomposites (NCs). X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns for the PVC/SiO2-BSA NCs showed a crystalline behavior for the NC with 6 wt% of the SiO2-BSA originated from the phosphate buffer on the NPs. Water contact angle of the PVC/SiO2-BSA NCs showed that the hydrophilicity enhanced with increasing of the NPs contents.