Effect of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle on Properties of Nanocomposite Membrane Made of Bacterial Cellulose

The purpose of this study was to see the effect of adding TiO2 nanoparticles had on the characteristics of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC)-based membranes. Pellicles were created from the pineapple peel waste extract, and to obtain BNC, pellicle was disintegrated in six cycles using high-pressure homogenizer at 150 bar. The concentrations of TiO2 nanoparticles in the membrane reinforcement solution were 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 wt.%. They were sonicated and dried in an oven at 60 degrees C for 8 h. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, roughness test, mechanical properties, and scanning electron microscopy were investigated to explore its claims. The results revealed that diffraction pattern of BNC/TiO2 membrane has a new peak at 25.05 degrees that ensures the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles as well as diffraction peak occurred at 22.49 degrees, which indicates the presence of cellulose I beta. Moreover, the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles until 1.5 wt.%, the crystallinity index is relatively same and the optimum strength of 99.5 MPa was attained. Further, improvement in addition of TiO2 nanoparticle at 2 wt.% showed a decline in crystallinity index as 80.16% to 74.72% at 2.5 wt.%. The morphology of the membrane surface revealed that TiO2 nanoparticles were still agglomerated and not equally distributed across the BNC membrane, leading to increase in surface roughness.