Alkalinized extraction of silica-aluminium nanocomposite from traditional Chinese joss paper: Optical characterizations

Abstract

The Chinese traditional joss paper has been recycled and silica and aluminium nanocomposite production is reported in the current research, using an alkalinization procedure. Characterization of silica and aluminium nanocomposite extracted was performed using field-emission transmission electron microscope (FETEM), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), UV–visible spectroscopy, high-power optical microscopy (HPM) and 3D nano profiler, indicates the size, shape and particle distribution, eventually reveals the purity of silica and aluminium nanocomposite synthesized. The silica-aluminium nanocrystal synthesized from joss paper waste was found to be ~15 nm size range under FETEM analysis and FESEM analysis revealed the uniform spherical shape. The energy disperse spectroscopy (EDX) data attained from FESEM analysis affirmed the synthesis of silica-aluminium nanocomposite with greater purity since the ratio of silicon to aluminium observed in EDX spectra was 13.24 to 7.96. HPM indicated the size of agglomerated aluminosilicate is 36.74 μm whereas 3D nano profiler has proven that the height of nanocrystal synthesized from joss paper waste is 234.37 μm. Band gap value of 3.84 eV, calculated using UV–vis absorbance readings further affirmed the size of nanocomposite which is in good agreement with presented results.