Preparation of Agro Waste Derived Poly Lactic Acid Based Green Renewable Nanocomposites with Improved Morphological, Enhanced Thermal, Mechanical and Augmented Antimicrobial Performance

Silica powder was prepared from raw rice husk via simple extraction method. Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were prepared by green route using natural neem leaves. Polylactic acid, silver nanoparticles (5 wt%), montmorillonite MMT (5 wt%) and silica with filler contents (5, 10 and 15 wt%) were blended by engaging twin-screw extruder to fabricate biodegradable nanocomposites. Synthesized bio-derived nanocomposite (BDS) were characterized by x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and were evaluated for thermal, mechanical, water barrier and antimicrobial properties. XRD analysis confirmed crystallinity enhancement with increasing wt% of silica. FT-IR revealed that there is no interaction among matrix and additives and same peaks appeared for all the samples. SEM witnessed enhanced rough and irregular morphology at 5 wt% of the BDS, compared with 10 and 15 wt% samples having less roughness and irregularity. EDX affirmed that additives were successfully incorporated into polymer matrix. The prepared BDS demonstrated considerable improvement in mechanical properties at low silica loading. The addition of silica (5 wt%) caused an increase of upto 51.92%, 460.7% and 63% in elongation at break, tensile strength and Young’s modulus respectively contrary to pristine PLA. The tensile properties deteriorated as loadings of silica increased beyond 10 and 15 wt%. The BDS exhibited enhanced thermal stability with increasing loading of silica. The BDS, inhibited growth of bacterial strain owing to Ag-NPs thus making them potential candidate for food Packaging industries in future.