Effects of alkaline treated and untreated halloysite on the properties of poly(butylene succinate)/halloysite composite films

Today, the growing use of disposable plastics, primarily obtained from synthetic polymers, requires the development of biodegradable and biobased alternatives. Here, efforts were made to improve the properties of poly (butylene succinate) (PBS), which is bio-based and biodegradable. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was incorporated to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of PBS. The effects of alkaline treatment on the properties of PBS/HNT composite films were evaluated. The raw HNT powder was treated with NaOH, yielding alkaline HNT (HNT-A), which was compared with untreated HNT. Alkalization resulted in an increase in the diameters of HNTs and enhancement of thermal properties with HNT-A resulting 82% residue at 600 degrees C. Subsequently, PBS composites reinforced with both HNT and HNT-A were fabricated through melt blending and compression molding techniques. The inclusion of HNT and HNT-A increased tensile strength of neat PBSfrom 13.8 MPa to around 15.9-17.7 MPa. However, alkalization had no considerable effects on the mechanical characteristic. The thermal stability changed with HNT-A reinforced films showing a residue of 5.2% at 600 degrees C, compared to 4.2% for untreated HNT films and 1.3% for neat PBS. Also, HNT-A reinforced films exhibited higher crystallinity (up to 51.3%) compared to untreated HNT films (49.4%), indicating that HNT-A acts as a nucleating agent. This paper presents valuable insights into the development of environmentally friendly materials for food packaging and highlights the potential of alkali-treated HNTs to enhance the properties of PBS as an alternative to conventional plastics, paving the way for researchers to explore further applications such as active packaging.