Effect of synthesized silica on the properties of sugarcane bagasse cellulose/silica nanocomposites via sol–gel processing

In this study the effect of silica nanoparticles (SCN) concentration on cellulose/silica nanocomposite prepared by sol/gel technique in the presence of acid and base catalyst were investigated. The cellulose was extracted form sugarcane bagasse (RSB). The nanocomposites (SCN 0.6 g, 0,8 g and 1 g) were prepared by the sol-gel method using ammonium solution and hydrochloric acid as catalysts. FTIR results showed that peak intensities were increased with the addition of nano silica on cellulosic fibres under alkaline catalyst influence as compared to acid catalyst due to an increased in concentrations of −OH group and reduction in hydrogen bond of SCN. XRD results confirm that the incorporation of nano silica did not necessarily change the crystallinity of cellulose fibres. In addition, the HCl catalyzed nano silica nanocomposites exhibited higher crystallinity index compared to the ammonium catalyzed nanocomposites. The thermal stability of SCN was increased with the presence of silica, even though most of high concentrations seemed to decrease. SEM analyses revealed that the diameter of the extracted cellulose was increased with an increase of the silica content. Moreover, the diameter increase was greater in acid catalysed as compared to base catalysed nanocomposites.