Structure of bacterial nanocellulose membrane reinforced by zinc oxide nanoparticles

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a natural polymer produced from microorganisms with characteristics, such as a fibrous with porous structure, impressive mechanical properties, and high purity. The synthesis of BC nanocomposites reinforced by ZnO nanoparticles has been applied to increase their properties. The study aims to identify the structure of BC nanocomposites after being reinforced by ZnO nanoparticles. The methods included BC synthesis using pineapple peel extract in static fermentation for 10 days, the alkalization procedure, and defibrillation of Bacterial Nanocellulose (BNC) by high-pressure homogenizer. ZnO was added as a reinforcement with concentrations of 2.5%, 5.0%, and 7.5%, sonicated and dried in an oven at 60oC for 20 hours. BNC/ZnO nanocomposite was characterized using X-ray diffraction. This work shows that membrane BC has peaks at 18°, 22°, and 26°. After the addition of ZnO, the dominant peak is obtained at a diffraction angle of 14°, 16°, 22°, and 26°, and the amount of peak is increased. The addition of ZnO does not affect the crystal size of the membrane, but it affects the crystalization of BC, which is the addition of 7.5% ZnO maximizes crystallinity until 87.45%. In the future, this membrane will be developed as membrane filtration for wastewater treatment.