Organic–Inorganic Composite Films Based on Modified Hemicelluloses with Clay Nanoplatelets

Special challenges and opportunities are present with organic–inorganic composite films with respect to potential applications. The quaternized hemicelluloses (QH) were prepared by etherification of hemicelluloses with ETA under alkaline conditions. The structure of QH was determined by FT-IR and 1H NMR. The biocomposite films were prepared based on QH and montmorillonite (MMT) by a vacuum-filtrated technique. Positively charged QH was paired with exfoliated anionic MMT clay nanoplatelets via electrostatic reaction during the paper-making process. Different ratios of hemicelluloses to clay for the preparation of films were employed. The morphology and structure of the films were characterized by SEM, AFM, FT-IR, and XRD. The thermal properties of the films were explored by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which suggested that the thermal properties were improved by the addition of clay nanoplatelets, whereas the optical transparency of the film decreased with the increment of clay contents. The proper proportion of QH and MMT among the three films was 1:1 based on the results of the thermal and UV–vis transparency properties of films. All of these results suggested that the composite films could be used in areas of application in the coating and packaging fields.