Synthesis and characterization of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC)-TiO2-based polyurethane bionanocomposites

A novel green series of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) based polyurethane (PUs) prepolymersblended with TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by reaction of Isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC). The chain was further extended with 1,4-butanediol (BDO) to get final HEC based polyurethane bio nanocomposites (FPUNC). A mixture of HEC based polymer and TiO2 nanoparticles was formed in solution polymerization, in which the TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed depending on interaction of TiO2 nanoparticles with polymer chains. The molecular structure of the synthesized PU bionanocomposites was confirmed by FTIR. A series of FPUNCs was prepared by varying the percent composition of the TiO2 nanoparticles into the PU matrix. The morphology of the bionanocomposites was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images verified the good dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles into PU matrix. The thermal stability of the synthesized FPUNCs was done by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and the FPUNC12 with 5% contents of TiO2 nanoparticles showed better thermal stability. The resultant HEC-TiO2 based FPUNCs material have promising bio-degradable and bio functional materials with good thermal properties and have potential applications in the field of biomaterials.