Chemically modified babassu coconut (Orbignya sp.) biopolymer: characterization and development of a thin film for its application in electrochemical sensors

• Published in: Journal of polymer research Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Teixeira, Paulo Ronaldo Sousa, Teixeira, Ana Siqueira do Nascimento Marreiro, Farias, Emanuel Airton de Oliveira, da Silva, Durcilene Alves, Nunes, Lívio César Cunha, da Silva Leite, Cleide Maria, da Silva Filho, Edson Cavalcanti, Eiras, Carla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.05.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anhydrides; Atomic force microscopy; Biopolymers; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical sensors; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electroactive materials; Glass substrates; Indium oxides; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Metal phthalocyanines; Monolayers; Original Paper; Oxidation; Phthalic anhydride; Polymer Sciences; Reduction; Self-assembly; Sensors; Solubility; Thin films; Topical Collection on Bio-Based Polymers; Zeta potential; Thin films; Babassu mesorcarp; Electroactivity; Phthalic anhydride
• ISSN: 1022-9760; 1572-8935
• DOI: 10.1007/s10965-018-1520-8

The babassu coconut is a plant very abundant in northeast of Brazil and other countries, and any part of plant and fruit becomes residue. In this study, babassu mesocarp ( Orbignya sp ) (BM) was chemically modified with phthalic anhydride (BMPA) to increase its solubility in an aqueous medium, and thus facilitate its processing in the form of thin films. The reaction of modification of the babassu mesocarp with phthalic anhydride (PA), obtaining BMPA, was confirmed by FTIR, XRD, TG/DTG, Zeta Potential and SEM analysis, from the differences in the bands of the FTIR spectra, increase in crystallinity, new thermal profile, changes in zeta potential value and morphology, respectively. The thin monolayer films of BM and BMPA were produced by the self-assembly monolayer (SAM) technique, and adsorbed onto conductive glass substrates (tin-doped indium oxide, ITO). The electroactive properties of these thin films were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV). BM exhibited a pair redox pair process of +0.57 V(oxidation) and + 0.19 V (reduction) for BM. In BMPA these redox processes were observed at +0.37 V (oxidation) and 0.24 V vs. ECS (reduction), verifying that both BM and BMPA are electroactive materials that can be used in the construction of sensor platforms, without the necessity of being conjugated with other electroactive materials, such as conductive polymers, metal phthalocyanines, or dyes. Furthermore, under the experimental conditions used, the BMPA presented a more reversible redox process and higher electrochemical stability in comparison to BM. This effect occurs because BMPA has higher solubility in aqueous media, which favors the preparation of films with smaller grain sizes compared to BM films, as observed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). This study showed that BMPA is a new material with potential for applications in electrochemical sensors. Graphical abstract Obtaining and modifying babassu mesocarp for the electrochemical studies