Preparation, characterization and solution properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) / boron mineral (BM) composite material

In this study, in light of the importance of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) polymer and boron mineral (BM) particles in industry, research on the characteristic features of PVA polymer and BM particles were carried out. Ultrasonic irradiation was used for the crumbing of BM particles in order to prepare more refined composite materials. Poly(vinyl alcohol)/boron mineral (PVA/BM) composites were then prepared by ex-situ solution mixing method and subsequent characterizations were performed by UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopic methods. Films of pure PVA and PVA/BM composites were produced from these materials using drop by drop method for potential use in optical or various industrial devices. The chemical and physical properties of these films were examined. Interactions between PVA and BM were investigated by using different spectroscopic and microscopic methods. The UV-Vis and FT-IR results revealed strong interactions between hydroxyl groups present in both the structure of the BM particles and on the PVA polymer main chains. The morphologies of the BM particles and films were examined by the SEM device. SEM analyses revealed that BM particles were homogeneously dispersed and well isolated in the composite films, but some agglomerates occurred in some regions of the composite films. The presence and distributions of the BM particles in the PVA film matrix were analyzed by EDX. The mass loss amounts and thermal stability of PVA and PVA/BM composites were determined by TGA method. Further, the solution properties of the prepared materials such as viscosity and electrolytic conductivity were investigated. As a result of these studies, new PVA/BM composite materials were shown to be suitably industrialized for potential usage in solar energy conversion and storage systems and devices. The antimicrobial properties of the prepared composites and films were also investigated.