Fabrication and characterization of zirconium hydroxide-carboxymethyl cellulose sodium/plasticized Trichosanthes Kirilowii starch nanocomposites

Carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC) was used as the template to prepare zirconium hydroxide nanoparticles. The resulted Zr-CMC was composed of about 29.4 wt% CMC and amorphous zirconium hydroxide. Zirconium hydroxide nanoparticles in size of 20-50 nm were encapsulated by CMC, which could improve the stability of zirconium hydroxide in water. Trichosanthes kirilowii (TK) is a traditional Chinese medicine, which is rich in starch. TK starch is attempted to be plasticized with glycerol to obtain glycerol-plasticized starch (GPS) in the casting process. And Zr-CMC as the filler was loaded in GPS matrix. Since Zr-CMC could form the good interaction with GPS matrix, Zr-CMC filler could be dispersed well in GPS matrix; thereby, improve the mechanical properties and water barrier of GPS matrix. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.