Regenerated cellulose films from jute fibers applied in conductive nanocomposites

This work studied the sheet resistance and conductivity of nanocomposite of regenerated cellulose films (RCFs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The novelty is associated with obtaining conductive nanocomposite films from jute fibers, which can be promising for application in electronic devices. A combination of chemical treatments was conducted to obtain bleached jute cellulose, which was used to obtain RCFs. The fibers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermal analysis. Nanocomposites films were produced containing 0.070, 0.145 and 0.290% (w/w) of AgNPs, compared to a pure RCF. Further, FTIR, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and sheet resistance using the van der Pauw were used to characterize the films. The chemical treatments removed lignin and hemicellulose present in the fiber, increased the crystallinity index and increased the thermal stability. Additionally, the treated fibers were more thermally stable than raw jute. The RCF thermal stability was approximately 225 °C. SEM-EDS of the films showed dense structures and a homogeneous AgNPs dispersion. The regenerated cellulose/AgNPs films showed an increase in conductivity in the range of 10 -2 S/cm and decreased transmittance with increasing nanoparticle content, with the 0.290% AgNPs sample being the most conductive. • Chemical treatments allowed the removal of lignin and hemicellulose of jute fibers. • Bleached cellulosic fibers enabled the production of regenerated cellulose films. • Bleached cellulose was dissolved in aqueous NaOH to production of nanocomposite films. • Increase of AgNPs in nanocomposite films increased the conductivity of the samples. • The conductivity of the nanocomposite films was in the range of 10 -2 S/cm.