ABSTRACT
Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite and modified CaCO3 nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by ultrasound agitation method with particle content altering from 3, 5, and 8 wt %. The CaCO3 surface was successfully treated by 10 wt % of bioactive dicarboxylic acid (DA). The influences of loading modified NPs on the thermal, mechanical, adsorption, contact angle, and physical properties of the poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films were thoroughly studied. The results showed that incorporation of modified CaCO3 into the PVA matrix had better performance than the pure PVA. Meanwhile, tensile strength, Young's modulus, and thermal stability are enhanced from 33.36 MPa, 1.26 GPs, and 242.918C (neat PVA) to 81.7 MPa, 4.81 GPa, and 312.95 °C (PVA/CaCO3‐DA NC 5 wt %), respectively. Also, the adsorption capacity of the PVA/CaCO3‐DA NCs 5 and 8 wt % revealed that the NC films could act as an appropriate absorbent for the removal of Cd(II) ions with maximum adsorption capacity of about 20.70 and 25.19 mg g−1 for Cd(II), respectively.