Valorization of Jatropha curcas plant leaves for Bioplasticizer: synthesis and comprehensive characterization for futuristic applications

Nowadays, the focus of research is to alternate synthetic polymers with organic polymers. Most of the polymers need an additive called plasticizer to enhance the physiochemical properties of the polymer. Plasticizer is available synthetically in both liquid and solid state. There are only limited polymers available organically synthesized. Most of the synthetic polymers such as phthalates, ethylene glycol, oligomers, esters and etc., are derived from fossil fuels. These polymers provide good flexibility, mould ability, chain rotation, and softness of polymers. Without plasticizers the polymers get shrunk and become weak quality polymer. According to the use of plasticizer, in our study we focussed on organic plasticizer extraction from plant based materials. The plant that was used was Jatropha curcas, and its leaves have a high organic content. The plasticizer was extracted chemically and characterized using FT-IR, TGA, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-Ray diffraction and particle size analysis. The extracted plasticizer withstand up to temperature of 290⁰C. The high crystallinity index (48.76%) and the low crystalline size (19.6 nm) attained are required characteristics of plasticizer. The residual mass obtained in TGA was only 8%. The FT-IR analysis shows the presence of polyphenols, aromatic ring stretching. The elemental analysis shows the presence of higher percentage of oxygen and carbon which are main components of organic plasticizer. Compared to conventional non-biodegradable plasticizers, organic plasticizers are a great choice because they were made with natural and safe raw materials.