Silica Nanoparticles from Coir Pith Synthesized by Acidic Sol-Gel Method Improve Germination Economics.

Lignin is a natural biopolymer. A vibrant and rapid process in the synthesis of silica nanoparticles by consuming the lignin as a soft template was carefully studied. The extracted biopolymer from coir pith was employed as capping and stabilizing agents to fabricate the silica nanoparticles (Si).

Highly Hydrophobic Organosilane-Functionalized Cellulose: A Promising Filler for Thermoplastic Composites.

The aim of this work is to design and optimize the process of functionalization of cellulose fibers by organosilane functional groups using low-pressure microwave plasma discharge with hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) precursor in order to prepare a compatible hydrophobic filler for composites with nonpolar thermoplastic matrices. Particular attention was paid to the study of agglomeration of cellulose fibers in the mixture with polypropylene. In our contribution, the dependence of the surface wettability on used process gas and treatment time was investigated.