Adhesion of Silica Particles on Thin Polymer Films Model of Flax Cell Wall

Abstract

The present work is focused on better understanding of the interfacial interactions of SBA-15 mesoporous silica particles with flax fibers. In order to overcome the inherent complexity of flax fiber surface composition we have prepared model polysaccharide surfaces representing the main component of the flax fibers, e.g. cellulose, polygalacturonic acid (PGUA), and xyloglucan (XG) with thicknesses of about 200 nm, 100 nm, and 110 nm, respectively. The ξ-potential measurements of both silica and polysaccharides were performed in aqueous solutions as a function of pH and ionic strength. ξ-potential, AFM and SEM results supported the important role of electrostatic interactions in the silica adsorption on polysaccharide surfaces, since silica adsorption increased remarkably with ionic strength. The adsorption density of the SBA-15 onto the various polysaccharides was Cellulose > PGUA > XG, and the maximum was observed at pH = 4. Urea used as hydrogen bonds breaker reduced significantly the adsorption of SBA-15 on the polysaccharide surfaces, which highlighted the significant contribution of hydrogen bonding in the adsorption process. It was observed that most adsorbed SBA-15 particles were resistant to ultrasonic washing, which revealed their strong irreversible adsorption. Finally, direct adsorption experiments on both raw and treated real flax fibers yielded results consistent with those of model surfaces showing the important role of the surface fibers treatments on the improvement of the interfacial adhesion of the silica particles with flax fibers. The remarkable affinity of the SBA-15 particles with treated flax fibers is encouraging to design superinsulators composites with tuneable mechanical performances.