Flexible photochromic cellulose triacetate based bionanocomposites modified with sol-gel synthesized V2O5 nanoparticles

Joseba Gomez-Hermoso-de-Mendoza; Hernane S Barud; Junkal Gutierrez; Agnieszka Tercjak

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.12.045

Flexible photochromic cellulose triacetate based bionanocomposites modified with sol-gel synthesized V₂O₅ nanoparticles

Carbohydr Polym. 2019 Mar 15:208:50-58. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.12.045. Epub 2018 Dec 17.

Authors

Joseba Gomez-Hermoso-de-Mendoza¹, Hernane S Barud², Junkal Gutierrez³, Agnieszka Tercjak⁴

Affiliations

¹ `Materials+Technologies´ Group (GMT), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Gipuzkoa, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plaza Europa 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.
² Biopolymers and Biomaterials Laboratory (BIOPOLMAT), University Center of Araraquara (UNIARA), Araraquara, 14801-340 Sao Paolo, Brazil.
³ `Materials+Technologies´ Group (GMT), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Gipuzkoa, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plaza Europa 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain; Faculty of Engineering Vitoria-Gasteiz, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), C/ Nieves Cano 12, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Electronic address: juncal.gutierrez@ehu.eus.
⁴ `Materials+Technologies´ Group (GMT), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Gipuzkoa, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plaza Europa 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain. Electronic address: agnieszka.tercjaks@ehu.eus.

PMID: 30658829
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.12.045

Abstract

Transparent and flexible bionanocomposites with photochromic properties based on cellulose triacetate (CTA) and sol-gel synthesized V₂O₅ nanoparticles were prepared. Poly(ethylene oxide-b-propylene oxide-b-ethylene oxide) (EPE) triblock copolymer was added to achieve nanostructured materials and simultaneously control the dispersion of synthesized V₂O₅ nanoparticles. Investigated bionanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), atomic force microscopy (AFM), tensile tests, and UV-vis spectroscopy. FTIR results confirmed the presence of hydrogen bonds in the bionanocomposites. The miscibility between components improved with the increase of sol-gel content resulting in a decrease of the T_g and T_m of CTA phase as indicated by DSC results. Addition of EPE triblock copolymer enhanced the photochromic properties of bionanocomposites reducing the time of recovery to the initial state after 5 min of UV light irradiation. The biocompatibility of pure CTA and EPE/CTA blends as well as the photochromic properties provided by synthesized V₂O₅ nanoparticles make their transparent and flexible bionanocomposites ideal for possible future applications.

Keywords: Bionanocomposites; Cellulose triacetate; Photochromic properties; Sol-gel; Vanadium oxide.