Reinforcement of morphological, structural, optical, and antibacterial characteristics of PVA/CMC bioblend filled with SiO2/Cr2O3 hybrid nanoparticles for optical nanodevices and food packing industries

• Published in: Polymer bulletin (Berlin, Germany) Germany), 2024-04, Vol.81 (5), p.4427-4448
• Main Authors: Hamza, Rehab Shather Abdul, Habeeb, Majeed Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorptivity; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Biodegradable materials; Carboxymethyl cellulose; Cellulose; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chromium oxides; Complex Fluids and Microfluidics; Diameters; E coli; Energy bands; Energy gap; Food packaging industry; Forbidden transitions; Heat; Morphology; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology devices; Optical microscopes; Optical properties; Optoelectronics; Organic Chemistry; Original Paper; Physical Chemistry; Physical properties; Polymer blends; Polymer Sciences; Polymers; Polyvinyl alcohol; Refractivity; Semiconductors; Silica; Silicon; Silicon dioxide; Soft and Granular Matter; Toxicity
• ISSN: 0170-0839; 1436-2449
• DOI: 10.1007/s00289-023-04913-3

Polymer nanocomposite specimens were fabricated using the solution casting technique. The specimens were composed of a polymer blend consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as the organic host matrix with varying concentrations of chromium trioxide (Cr 2 O 3 ) and silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) (ranging from 0 to 8 weight percent). The present study examined the morphological, structural, optical, and antimicrobial characteristics of PVA–CMC–SiO 2 –Cr 2 O 3 nanocomposites (NCs). The X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrated the amorphous characteristics of the blend of PVA and CMC. Additionally, the intensity of the characteristic peak of the original polymers in the nanocomposite was observed to decrease significantly with an increase in the filler level. The results obtained from SEM measurements indicate a satisfactory distribution and uniformity in surface morphology. The optical microscope images indicate that the distribution of nanoparticles in the blend was uniform, resulting in the formation of a continuous network within the polymer matrix. The results of optical properties indicate that the absorbance, absorption coefficient, refractive index, dielectric constant (real and imaginary), and optical conductivity demonstrate an increasing trend with the rising concentrations of (SiO 2 –Cr 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles, while the transmittance of the nanocomposites decreases as the concentration of nanoparticles increases. The energy band gap decreases from 4.26 to 2.91 eV and from 3.39 to 1.44 eV for allowed and forbidden transitions, respectively, with an increase in (SiO 2 –Cr 2 O 3 ) NPs concentration. These results indicated that the (PVA–CMC–SiO 2 –Cr 2 O 3 ) nanostructures may be considered as promising materials for optoelectronics nanodevices. The synthesized NCs underwent an antibacterial activity test using the agar disk diffusion method against two bacterial isolates, namely the gram-negative Escherichia coli and the gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. An increase in the diameter zone was observed in the antibacterial activity index as the concentration of (SiO 2 –Cr 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles increased. The study’s findings demonstrate that the use of (SiO 2 –Cr 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles in PVA/CMC blends resulted in heightened antibacterial properties in the samples. This indicates the potential of these nanocomposites used for various antimicrobial applications, including their potential use in the food packaging industry.