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ARTICLE

Effect of Y-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) and Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) Towards Preparation of Oil Absorbent Foams from Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Reinforced with Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC)

Dzun Noraini Jimat^*, Sharifah Shahira Syed Putra, Parveen Jamal, Wan Mohd Fazli Wan Nawawi, Mohammed Saedi Jami

Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 50728, Malaysia

* Corresponding Author: Dzun Noraini Jimat. Email:

(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2020, 8(7), 739-757. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.010357

Received 28 February 2020; Accepted 22 April 2020; Issue published 01 June 2020

Abstract

Increasing usage of foams in various industry sectors had causing serious disposal problems once it reaches the end of its life-cycle. Herein, PVA-MFC foam was prepared by freeze-drying using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) as a reinforced material from sugarcane bagasse (SCB). In this study, the PVA-MFC foam was chemically silylated with Y-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The wetting ability and mechanical strength of the silylated _2,20PVA-MFC foam was greatly enhanced compared with unmodified _2,20PVA-MFC foam. The silane chemicals (MPS and TEOS) had been confirmed grafted on _2,20PVA-MFC foam due to the presence of Si-C and Si-O-C stretching vibration as showed in Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra and cloud-like coating of porous pore was observed in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The silylated _2,20PVA-MFC foam (MPS and TEOS) exhibited a series of desirable properties such as lower swelling ratio and high absorption capacity of solvents and oils but had low thermal stability in thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis. The characterization of _2,20PVA-MFC foam using TEOS was further investigated. A significant difference in morphology was clearly observed between the unmodified and silylated _2,20PVA-MFC-TEOS foam through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images. The X-ray photoelectron (XPS) analysis of silylated _2,20PVA-MFC-TEOS foam confirmed the presence of C, O and trace amount of Si elements. These synthesized _2,20PVA-MFC foam could be a promising material for broad range of polymer foam applications.

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