Preparation and characterization of biodegradable waterabsorbent PAN/SS nanocomposite

Abstract Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/sodium silicate (SS) nanocomposite was prepared via nonconventional emulsion method using an in situ developed transition metal complex Cu(II)/glycine taking ammonium persulfate (APS) as initiator, with a novel motive of converting hydrophobic homopolymer PAN into hydrophilic nano material via nanotechnology by the inclusion of SS to the homopolymer. UV–visible spectral analysis was carried out which revealed various interactions between the in situ developed complex with other reaction components. The formation of the PAN/SS nanocomposite was confirmed by infrared spectra (IR). Furthermore, as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the composite so obtained was found to have nano scale structure. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) was carried out suggesting that the silicate layers were exfoliated during the polymerization process. An increase in the thermal stability for the developed nanocomposite was recorded by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Surprisingly, it was also found that the PAN/SS nanocomposite showed considerable amount of waterabsorbency and was biodegradable as tested by activated sludge and cultured media and further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers