Physical characteristics of chitosan-silica composite of rice husk ash

Abstract

Some previous studies showed that the characteristics of chitosan membranes have a very rigid and non-porous structure so that its utilization is not maximized, particularly in the filtration process. Hence, it needs modification to improve the quality of the chitosan membranes. Adding the silica into the chitosan membranes is one of the offered solutions to overcome the problems of physical and mechanical properties of chitosan. This study aims to investigate the effect of variations in the silica composition to the physical characteristics of the chitosan-silica membranes of rice husk ash that were synthesized. The chitosan used is derived from the chitin of Vannamei shrimps’ shell with 82% degree of de-acetylation, while the silica was synthesized from rice husk ash with rendering of silica (SiO2) by 5% and the results of XRD analysis showed an amorphous phase. Membrane synthesis was performed using the phase inversion method with chitosan-silica mass ratios of rice husk ash, which were 1:0.0; 1:0.5; 1:1.0; 1:1.5 and 1:2.0. The results showed that the addition of silica increases the swelling index and the membrane permeability. The results of the analysis, FTIR spectra, obtained a new functional group after the addition of silica, they are Si-OH, Si-O-Si, and CO- NH2. The morphology test using CCD Microscope MS-804 results in the very tight chitosan membranes without the silica surface, it has no pores, smooth and homogeneous, while the chitosan-silica composite membrane of rice husk ash obviously has cracks and small cavities that seemed to spread out.