Experimental investigation on the spectral, mechanical, and thermal behaviors of thermoplastic starch and de-laminated talc-filled sustainable bio-nanocomposite of polypropylene

This study delves into sustainable bio-nanocomposite of polypropylene (PP) with thermoplastic starch and de-laminated nano-talc as filler. Synthesis and characterization were done in two stages, at first, thermoplastic starch in the PP matrix was kept at 15, 20, and 25% and bio-composite was investi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Goswami Rakesh, Khosla Anita, Alam Aftab, Varshney Pradeep K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/jmbm-2024-0031
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Summary:This study delves into sustainable bio-nanocomposite of polypropylene (PP) with thermoplastic starch and de-laminated nano-talc as filler. Synthesis and characterization were done in two stages, at first, thermoplastic starch in the PP matrix was kept at 15, 20, and 25% and bio-composite was investigated for their spectral, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Results revealed enhanced tensile strength, elongation, flexural strength, melt flow index, and melting point of the composite with 20% starch compared to other formulations. Thereafter, the PP matrix with 20% starch was taken as the base polymer, the concentration of nano-talc was kept at 1, 3, and 5%, and investigation of their mechanical properties revealed composite with 20% starch and 3% nano-talc to be better than those with 20% starch and nano-talc of 1 or 5%. Integration of 3% talc filling into the bio-composite material increased the tensile strength to 29.27 MPa and flexural modulus to 2964.6 MPa but, with marginal reduction in elongation and flexural strength to 1.03% and 40.59 Mpa, respectively. Increased mechanical properties can be attributed to the action of glycerol as a plasticizer and the uniform dispersion of fillers. X-ray diffraction study revealed uniform interplanar arrangement and crystal size whereas UV-Visio studies showed a decrease in ultraviolet absorbance. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravitational analysis studies revealed improved thermal stability.
ISSN:2191-0243