PERBANDINGAN SIFAT MEKANIK BIOPLASTIK TERHADAP PENAMBAHAN ZINC OXIDE (ZnO)

Abstract

Bioplastic is a type of plastics made from natural materials so that it can be easly degraded by microorganism activity. One of the ingredients is cassava starch. But bioplastics cannot be mass produced and be used dayly because their properties are not suitable to replace the existing plastics. This study aims to compare the properties and characterization of bioplastics without the addition of filler and bioplastics by adding Zinc Oxide nanoparticles. Several test and characterization were carried out in this study including morphology structure, mechanical strength and biodegradation. From SEM characterization it was produced that bioplastic with the addition of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles tend to have better morphology and has not crack even though there are particle aggregation. Other tests show that Zinc Oxide nanoparticles can increase the tensile strength of bioplastic but inhibut the growth of microorganism.