Study of enzymatic degradation and water absorption of composites carboxymethyl cellulose and poly (ϵ-caprolactone) containing SiO2nanoparticle by cellulase

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of Poly (ϵ-Caprolactone (PCL) and Nano-SiO2content within the Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) blends on the rate and extent of carboxymethyl cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis using the enzyme cellulase. The results reveal that blends with Nano-SiO2content at 5 wt% exhibit a significantly reduced rate and extent of CMC hydrolysis. This may be attributed to interactions between CMC and SiO2that prevent further enzymatic attack on the remaining CMC phases within the blend. The total solids that remained after 2880 min were 44.8 wt.% (CMC: PCL); 62.7 wt.% (CMC: PCL: 1% Nano-SiO2); 69.8 wt.% (CMC: PCL: 3% Nano-SiO2); 73.1 wt.% (CMC: PCL: 5% Nano-SiO2). Enzymatic degradation behaviour of CMC: PCL: Nano-SiO2was based on the determinations of water resistance, weight loss and the reducing sugars. The degraded residues have been examined by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and UV–Vis spectroscopy.