Electronic, Vibrational, and Structural Study of Polysaccharide Agar-Agar Biopolymer

Abstract

Polysaccharide biopolymer Agar-Agar extracted from red algae is a natural and biodegradable polymer. It is a combination of agarose (a neutral and linear polymer, with repeated units of agarobiose) and a heterogeneous mixture of agaropectin (a charged sulfated polymer). In this study, a comparative study of structural vibrational and electrochemical properties of agar-agar biopolymer with two different methods HF (Hartree-Fock) and DFT (Density Functional Theory) using a basis set 631+G (d, p) is performed. The comparative structural study of agar-agar biopolymer by HF and DFT method has been carried out to calculate the stability of the molecule. The thermionic properties and Mulliken charge distribution are analysed to deliver a quantitative study of partial atomic charge distribution. The overall vibrational analysis of primal modes of the biopolymer has been studied using FTIR analysis. Based on highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) composition and energies, various chemical parameters of the biopolymer have been evaluated. The Physico-chemical properties of this polysaccharide show a strong correlation with its optimized structure. Agar-agar has its application in the electrochemical, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical fields, as a stabilizer and gelling material.