Improved hydrophobic and thermal stability of polyvinylpyrrolidone composites with the ingredients of Buxus sempervirens

Three samples of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) composites were prepared by solution casting with the leaf powder (LP), leaf carbon (LC) and leaf ash (LA) of Buxus sempervirens L. The bio-resource ingredients of the composites were obtained from the leaves of the plant on milling and heating at 250 °C or 700 °C, respectively. The resulting bio-composites were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and IR spectroscopy as well as by XRD analysis. Investigation of the thermal properties of these composites by TGA and DTA measurements has revealed some improvements in thermal properties of polyvinylpyrrolidone after composition with the powder, ash, and carbon of the leaf. Additional experiments exhibited considerable differences between hydrophilicity of the composites and PVP. õSimple hydrophilicity tests showed that the prepared composites are less hydrophilic than pure PVP.