Abstract
A novel composite material was prepared from prawn shell derived chitosan (CHT) and locally available kaolinite-rich modified Bijoypur clay (MC) using a facile technique in which dilute acetic acid was used as a solvent for dissolving chitosan and composite fabrication whereas distilled water was used for preparing the clay dispersion. Bijoypur clay mainly consists of kaolinite clay mineral and it was modified with the dodecyl amine to make it organophilic. Morphology and properties of the composites (different weight ratio of MC and CHT) have been studied and compared with those of pure CHT and MC. Purification and modification of Bijoypur clay were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. The fabrication of CHT-MC composites was confirmed by FTIR analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning colorimetry (DSC) were used to investigate the thermal stability of the composites. It was observed that dispersed clay improves the thermal stability and enhances the hardness of the matrix systematically with the increase of clay loading. In this study, a better insolubility in both acidic and alkaline media of the composites is also observed compared to pure chitosan.
Highlights
For the past few years, composite materials based on polymer and clay have enticed considerable interest due to its several distinct properties and variegated applications
The source of the clay was Bijoypur of Netrokona District, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh, which was supplied by Bangladesh Insulator and Sanitary Factory Limited (BISF), Dhaka, Bangladesh
The comparison of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) data of raw clay and purified clay demonstrated that HCl treatment did not have a significant loss in the crystallinity of the clay materials
Summary
For the past few years, composite materials based on polymer and clay have enticed considerable interest due to its several distinct properties and variegated applications. This is because they can assemble both the physical and chemical properties of inorganic and organic materials. One of the limitations of CHT is that it is soluble in International Journal of Polymer Science dilute aqueous acidic solution (pH < 6.5), which can convert glucosamine units into soluble form (R-NH3+) [12] and it gets precipitated in alkaline solution [13]. If these properties can be improved by using other materials, it will be an excellent candidate for various applications like wastewater treatment, packaging purpose, and so on
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