This Article reports the influence of the protein network structure on the mechanical properties of foams produced from commercial wheat gluten using freeze-drying. Foams were produced from alkaline aqueous solutions at various gluten concentrations with or without glycerol, modified with bacterial cellulose nanosized fibers, or both. The results showed that 20 wt % glycerol was sufficient for plasticization, yielding foams with low modulus and high strain recovery. It was found that when fibers were mixed into the foams, a small but insignificant increase in elastic modulus was achieved, and the foam structure became more homogeneous. SEM indicated that the compatibility between the fibers and the matrix was good, with fibers acting as bridges in the cell walls. IR spectroscopy and SE-HPLC revealed a relatively low degree of aggregation, which was highest in the presence of glycerol. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed distinct differences in HMW-glutenin subunits and gliadin distributions for all of the different samples.

In this paper, the preparation and characterization of oxygen barrier pullulan sodium montmorillonite (Na+-MMT) nanocomposite coatings are presented for the first time. Full exfoliation of platelets during preparation of the coating water dispersions was mediated by ultrasonic treatment, which turned out to be a pivotal factor in the oxygen barrier performance of the final material even at high relative humidity (RH) conditions [oxygen permeability coefficients ∼1.43 ± 0.39 and 258.05 ± 13.78 mL·μm·m–2·(24 h)−1·atm–1 at 23 °C and 0% RH and 70% RH, respectively]. At the micro- and nanoscale, the reasons are discussed. The final morphology of the coatings revealed that clay lamellae were stacked on top of one another, probably due to the forced confinement of the platelets within the coating thickness after solvent evaporation. This was also confirmed by modeling the experimental oxygen permeability data with the well-known Nielsen and Cussler permeation theoretical models, which suggested a reasonable aspect ratio (α) of ∼100. Electron microscopic analyses also disclosed a peculiar cell-like arrangement of the platelets. The stacking of the clay lamellae and the cell-like arrangement create the excellent oxygen barrier properties. Finally, we demonstrated that the slight haze increase in the bionanocomposite coating materials arising from the addition of the clays depends on the clay concentration but not so much on the sonication time, due to the balance of opposite effects after sonication (an increase in the number of scattering centers but a reduction in their size).

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A bio-based thermoset resin was reinforced with flax fabrics and Lyocell fiber. The effect of different weave architectures was studied with four flax fabrics with different architectures: plain, twill (two different types), and dobby. The effect of the outer ply thickness was studied and characterized with flexural and impact testing. Composites manufactured with plain weave reinforcement had the best mechanical properties. The tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength were 280 MPa, 32 GPa, 250 MPa, 25 GPa, and 75 kJ/m 2 , respectively. Reinforcements with twill-weave architecture did not impart appreciable flexural strength or flexural modulus even when the outer thickness was increased. Plain-and dobby (basket woven style)-weave architectures gave better reinforcing effects and the flexural properties increased with an increase in outer thickness. Water absorption properties of the composites were studied and it was observed that the hybridization with Lyocell fiber reduced the water uptake. Fieldemission scanning electron microscopy was used to study the micro-structural properties of the composites.

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