Properties of Compatible Soy Protein Isolate/Polycaprolactone Composite with Special Interface Structure

It is important to improve the compatibility and ultimately the properties of biobased polymer materials as alternative materials for non‐degradable polymer materials. In this study, polyurethane prepolymer (PUP) was synthesized from PCL diols, and the PUP with special structure was used as a compat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer composites 2019-01, Vol.40 (S1), p.E383-E391
Main Authors: Wu, Qiangxian, Ma, Nian, Liu, Ting, Koranteng, Ernest
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:It is important to improve the compatibility and ultimately the properties of biobased polymer materials as alternative materials for non‐degradable polymer materials. In this study, polyurethane prepolymer (PUP) was synthesized from PCL diols, and the PUP with special structure was used as a compatibilizer to improve the compatibility between hydrophilic soy protein isolate (SPI) and hydrophobic PCL composites. The structure and properties of the soy protein isolate‐polycaprolactone (SPI‐PCL) composites were investigated. The results showed that the mechanical properties such as the tensile strength, impact strength, and bending strength of the modified composites were increased as compared to un‐modified composites, respectively. Also, the SEM results showed that the interfacial adhesion between the hydrophobic PCL and hydrophilic SPI was also enhanced because of the existence of compatible PU interfacial layer in the composites. Clearly, the strong urethane linkage interaction between the PU interfacial layer and the SPI particles, and the PCL–PCL crystallinity interactions between the PU interfacial layer and PCL matrix were responsible for the improved compatibility in the SPI–PCL composites. Therefore, the addition of the PUP with the special structure improved the compatibility and the properties of the SPI–PCL composites significantly. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:E383–E391, 2019. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers
ISSN:0272-8397
1548-0569
DOI:10.1002/pc.24694