Abstract
In order to sustain rapid expansion in the field of biocomposites, it is necessary to develop novel fillers that are biodegradable, and easy to disperse and obtain. In this work, gliadin particles (GPs) fabricated through an in situ method have been reported as fillers for creating chitosan (CS)-based biocomposite films. In general, the particles tend to agglomerate in the polymer matrix at high loading (approximately >10%) in the biopolymer/particles composites prepared by the traditional solution-blending method. However, the micrographs of biocomposites confirmed that the GPs are well dispersed in the CS matrix in all CS/GPs composites even at a high loading of 30% in this study. It was found that the GPs could improve the mechanical properties of the biocomposites. In addition, the results of moisture uptake and solubility in water of biocomposites showed that water resistance of biocomposites was enhanced by the introduction of GPs. These results suggested that GPs fabricated through an in situ method could be a good candidate for use in biopolymer-based composites.
Highlights
Biopolymers and their biodegradable films have been extensively developed in response to both environmental concerns regarding non-biodegradable materials and the energy crisis in the past decades [1,2,3,4,5,6]
An effective strategy that enhances the properties of pure CS-based materials is the addition of fillers into the CS matrix to create composites [14,15,16,17,18]
Fillers tend to aggregate together through strong Van der Waals interactions, which hinder the dispersion of fillers in the CS matrix and decrease the properties of composites with high loading [11,19,20]
Summary
Biopolymers and their biodegradable films have been extensively developed in response to both environmental concerns regarding non-biodegradable materials and the energy crisis in the past decades [1,2,3,4,5,6] Among these developments, carbohydrates, such as chitosan (CS), have attracted scientific and industrial interest in widely differing fields due to their unique properties, such as renewablility, biodegradability, and excellent film-forming capability [7,8,9,10,11]. A significant demand for fillers that could disperse well in the CS matrix and are prepared by a green method is needed
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