Employment of ultrasonic waves for the preparation of PVA/TiO₂‐BSA nanocomposites: Mechanical, thermal, and optical properties

Abstract

The goal of this project is to obtain poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/TiO2‐bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanocomposite (NC) films in different weight percentages of modified TiO2. For this purpose, to prevent the accumulation of nanoparticles (NPs) in the PVA matrix, the surface of the TiO2 NPs was treated with the BSA molecules. To achieve this aim, ultrasonic waves were used as an environmentally friendly and green process that decrease the time of reactions, help better spreading of TiO2 NPs and maintain dimensions of TiO2 NPs in the nanoscale range. In the end, the features of the PVA/TiO2‐BSA NC films were considered with a variety of techniques. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray, and X‐ray diffraction showed that the BSA was well placed on the surface of TiO2 NPs. The thermal gravimetric analysis and UV‐visible results demonstrated that all the PVA/TiO2‐BSA NC films have better thermal and optical properties than the pure PVA. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46558.

In Vitro Hyperthermia Evaluation of Electrospun Polymer Composite Fibers Loaded with Reduced Graphene Oxide

“…Composite materials can be made up of a mixture of natural or synthesized polymers, each one of which imparts particular characteristics. Thus, these materials could be composed of arabic gum (AG), which provides emulsifying stability and viscosity [ 14 ], natural rubber (NR) with excellent performance properties such as high elasticity and good fatigue resistance [ 15 ], and a synthetic polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that has good process ability and is easy to electrospun [ 16 ] through an electrospinning (ES) process. ES is a simple, low cost, and versatile fiber-spinning nanotechnology to generate electrospun polymer fibers [ 17 ].…”