Enhanced mechanical strength and biodegradability of PLA-based bioplastics reinforced with TiO <sub>2</sub> and graphene oxide
T. Sathish, Jayant Giri, Mohammad Kanan, R. Saravanan
Abstract
Recently, nanomaterials have been widely used to make bioplastic composites with organic biomaterials like PLA (Polylactic acid). However, toxicity of nanoparticles and low biodegradation are the major limitations. In this research, PLA matrix was developed with TiO2 (Titanium Dioxide) and GO (Graphene oxide) nanomaterials for various functional applications. The TiO2 & GO nanoparticles were dispersed by ultrasonication (Bath type) process. Various weight percentage of Graphene oxide (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%) and TiO2 (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%) were composite with PLA matrix were prepared and characterised. The characterisations of XRD, FTIR, Tensile, TGA, and Biodegradation were done. From these nanocomposites, GO-1% and TiO2-1% obtained the maximum tensile strength (79.69 MPa), and highest biodegradation rate of 97%. The TGA tests shows that PLA/TiO2 1%/GO 1% had the highest thermal stability and it had the highest residue weight percentage (25%). XRD results show the homogeneous mixing of nanoparticles of TiO2 & GO nanoparticles with PLA matrix.