Structure and Properties of Gelatine / Na+-Montmorillonite Bio-nanocomposites

J.F.MARTUCCI; R.A.RUSECKAITE

Recent Advances in Research on Biodegradable Polymers and Sustainable Composites

Nova Science Pub

Lugar: New York; Año: 2008; p. 1 - 14

ABSTRACT Homogenous and transparent gelatine/Na+montmorillonite (Ge/MMt) films intended to be applied as packing materials were obtained via simple mixing of gelatine solutions with ultrasonically pre-treated clay suspensions under controlled conditions. The Young modulus of nanocomposite films increased from 5.2 GPa for unfilled gelatine to 6.58 GPa for 15wt.%clay, at the expense of the percentage of elongation at break The results of dynamic mechanical  thermal analysis showed an improvement in  storage modulus over the temperature range analyzed together with shifts in tan d peaks toward higher temperatures. Water resistance and transparency were analyzed in order to evaluate the some properties of the nanocomposite films as packaging materials. It was found that the surface hydrophobicity of the films increased with increasing clay content. In association with film hydrophobicity, moisture absorption was found to decrease with increasing montmorillonite content. Transparency was retained, at least for 15wt.% clay, suggesting that filler is mostly distributed at the nano-scale.