Incorporation of thermally induced shaped and phases of manganese oxide nanoparticles into zein/PVA fiber blends

Abstract

Incorporation of nanomaterials into polymers and their blend provide additional advantages to their use and structural support. Metals such as Ag, Cu, Ti, and Fe are often reported in their metallic or their oxide forms for applications in microbiological, water treatment, and biomedical fields. The integration of metal oxide nanoparticles into polymer fiber blends overcomes the mechanical instability and compatibility challenges of nanomaterials. Manganese-based oxides provide good stability and optical properties in their nanoscale useful in polymeric composite or fiber materials enhancement. MnO2 and Mn2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized at different calcination temperatures using the co-precipitation method and characterized a microscopic technique TEM, and TGA. TEM images and the XRD patterns confirmed that the manganese oxide nanoparticle were spheres and rod-shaped with corresponding cryptomelane and orthorhombic crystalline phases. Mn2O3 nanoparticles were successfully integrated into zein/PVA (80/20) fiber blends. SEM images confirmed that the inclusion of the nanoparticles into zein/PVA solutions increased the conductivity of the solutions which led to an improved morphology and increased surface area to volume ratio. XRD patterns and TGA showed that the incorporated nanoparticles were below the detection limit, therefore there was no significant change observed. Therefore, all characterization techniques illustrated that the effect of concentration significantly enhanced the morphology of the fiber blends.