Surface modified SiO2 nanoparticles by thiamine and ultrasonication synthesis of PCL/SiO2-VB1 NCs: Morphology, thermal, mechanical and bioactivity investigations

Abstract

The influence of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) on the properties of polycaprolactone (PCL) was investigated. Due to the intense tendency of SiO2 NPs to aggregation and their high surface energy, the surface of SiO2 NPs was treatment via Vitamin B1 (VB1) as a biosafe coupling agent. Novel PCL/SiO2-VB1 nanocomposites (NC) films by variety of percentage of SiO2-VB1 NPs were prepared under ultrasonic irradiation as an eco-friendly and fast procedure following by casting method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis exposed the presence of SiO2 NPs into the polymer matrix. A good distribution of the silica into the polymer matrix was detected by microscopic observations and EDX testing. According to the UV–Vis spectra, the absorption of prepared NCs was improved via increasing the amount of SiO2 NPs. PCL/SiO2-VB1 NCs showed more thermal stability compared to the pure polymer. The tensile test was investigated and good arrangement among the experimental data and the predicted flexibility of NCs was obtained. Moreover, PCL/SiO2-VB1 6wt% had noticeable increase values for tensile strength. Finally, in vitro bioactivity investigation designated that by rising SiO2 contents in the NCs, the amount of the hydroxyapatite formed was increased and NC films are bioactive and have a potential to be utilized in bone tissue engineering.