Enhanced mechanical properties of poly(butylene succinate)/silk sericin composite monofilaments with silane coupling agent KH570

Abstract

Biodegradable Poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) composites with natural polymers have been widely developed, the compatibility of PBS and natural polymers is often the first consideration in terms of performance. In this work, PBS/silk sericin composite monofilaments (content of silk sericin is 6 wt%) with γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH570) as the coupling agent were fabricated by reactive melt-mixing, spinning, and stretching. The effect of KH570 content (1–3 wt%) on the morphology, mechanical property and biodegradation was studied. The reaction between the hydroxyl groups of silk sericin and -Si-OH of KH570 was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The cross-section morphology of the monofilaments obtained from SEM and EDS images indicates that the dispersion of silk sericin is improved with the increase of KH570 content. Compared with unmodified composite monofilaments, the composite monofilament with 2 wt% KH 570 shows the best mechanical performance (102% and 80% improvement in tensile strength and elongation at break respectively). The incorporation of silk sericin, which possesses skin-friendly properties, imparts composite monofilaments with advantages in the fields of clothing, headgear, shoe uppers and other related applications. Otherwise, the silk sericin can enhance the biodegradability velocity of PBS/silk sericin composite monofilaments. And the weight loss of the composite monofilaments buried in soil can be adjusted by the synergistic effect of silk sericin and KH570.