Enhanced optical, dielectric, and mechanical properties of starch-based nanocomposite films reinforced with layered double hydroxide

Abstract

In this study, we present the optical, electrical, dielectric, and mechanical properties of nanocomposite films containing different inorganic filler content. Starch is used as the biopolymer while the carbonate intercalated Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) is used as the inorganic filler. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) are used to characterize and evaluate the dispersion of LDH in the biopolymer matrix. Increasing the filler content was found to improve the optical properties by increasing the light absorption coefficients, reducing the optical gap energy and increasing the refractive index. Improved dielectric properties were demonstrated by the significant decrease in the dielectric energy dissipation with increasing filler content. In addition, mechanical properties were enhanced by increasing the Young’s modulus when the filler content reached 5 wt %.