This article reports the modification of optical properties of biodegradable/biocompatible polylactide (PLA) using organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) for microcantilever applications. PLA/OMMT composite films with various OMMT loadings (3, 5 and 7 wt%) were prepared using solvent casting. The surface morphology of the PLA/OMMT composites was examined using scanning electron and atomic force microscopes. The morphological results indicated that the surface roughness increases as a function of the clay loading. The optical properties of the PLA/OMMT composites were studied using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) and ultra-violet (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. VASE revealed that the refractive index and extinction coefficient (n and k) positively correlated with the thickness of the film. UV-Vis spectroscopy also demonstrated that the absorption of light by PLA/OMMT composite films positively correlated with the clay content in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. To enhance the reflectivity, PLA/OMMT films were coated with a gold layer.
Reference:
Cele, H.M, Ojijo, V, Chen, H, Kumar, S, Land, K, Joubert, T, De Villiers, M.F.R and Ray, S.S. 2014. Effect of nanoclay on optical properties of PLA/clay composite films. Polymer Testing, vol. 36, pp 24-31
Cele, H., Ojijo, V. O., Chen, H., Kumar, S., Land, K., Joubert, T., ... Ray, S. (2014). Effect of nanoclay on optical properties of PLA/clay composite films. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7711
Cele, HM, Vincent O Ojijo, H Chen, S Kumar, K Land, T Joubert, MFR De Villiers, and SS Ray "Effect of nanoclay on optical properties of PLA/clay composite films." (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7711
Cele H, Ojijo VO, Chen H, Kumar S, Land K, Joubert T, et al. Effect of nanoclay on optical properties of PLA/clay composite films. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/7711.
