Production and characterization of electrospun cellulose acetate/zinc oxide (CA/ZnO) nanocomposite

Date

12-2015

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Major Course

Major in Pulp and Paper Technology

College

College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Ronniel D. Manalo

Restrictions

Restricted: Not available to the general public. Access is available only after consultation with author/thesis adviser and only to those bound by the confidentiality agreement.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of embedding zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles into fibrous cellulose acetate (CA) membrane prepared through electrospinning. Two forms of zinc oxide-zinc acetate as precursor and a commercially-available ZnO were used. The electrospinning parameters employed were 3:1 (v/v) DMF/acetone solvent, flow rate of 2ml/h, CA concentration of 15%(w/v), tip-to-collector distance of 15 cm and applied voltage of 20kV. The concentrations of the precursor were 0.5, 1 and 2% (w/w) zinc acetate and tested with pure CA as the control. Additional electrospun nanocomposite membrane was produced using 2.0% (w/w) commercial ZnO. The morphological characteristics were determined using a Scanning Electron Microscope. Chemical transformations were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The antibacterial property was also tested against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and the gram-negative Escherichia coli using the zone of inhibition method. Morphological analysis revealed that the average fiber diameters of nanocomposites with pure CA, 0.5, 1 and 2% (w/w) zinc acetate precursor were 306.85±112.87, 1072.8±357.30, 808.63±275.02 and 400.49±202.19nm, respectively. It was found that the percursor concentration has significant effect on the average fiber diameter of the nanocomposite. Moreover, bead formations increased with increased amount of precursor. On the other hand, electrospun fibers containing 2% commercial ZnO has narrower diameter at 184.12±178.94nm but higher bead area formation compared to that of using a precursor. The presence of the characteristics functional groups of Zn²⁺ and ZnO in the IR spectra of the nanocomposites proved the more embedment of Zn²⁺ instead of ZnO in CA. No inhibition was observed for both types of ZnO although, the bacterial culture seemed to be less developed in the latter. It was observed that the insufficient deposition of ZnO on the nanocomposite was responsible for microbial growth.

Language

English

Location

UPLB College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2015 E62 /S25

Document Type

Thesis

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