Improving the Performance of Feather Keratin/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Tris(hydroxymethyl)Aminomethane Nanocomposite Films by Incorporating Graphene Oxide or Graphene

Abstract

In this study, feather keratin/polyvinyl alcohol/tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (FK/PVA/Tris) bionanocomposite films containing graphene oxide (GO) (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 wt%) or graphene (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 wt%) were prepared using a solvent casting method. The scanning electron microscopy results indicated that the dispersion of GO throughout the film matrix was better than that of graphene. The successful formation of new hydrogen bonds between the film matrix and GO was confirmed through the use of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The tensile strength, elastic modulus, and initial degradation temperature of the films increased, whereas the total soluble mass, water vapor permeability, oxygen permeability, and light transmittance decreased following GO or graphene incorporation. In summary, nanoblending is an effective method to promote the application of FK/PVA/Tris-based blend films in the packaging field.

Keratin/Polylactic acid/graphene oxide composite nanofibers for drug delivery

“…This behavior is different from the ones described in the literature for GO dispersed in other polymeric matrices, such as polypropylene (Sabet et al, 2020), nylon 6 (Xiao et al, 2016), and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (Yassin and Abdelghany, 2021) where a significant increase of thermal stability was observed, with the effect depending on the GO loading. However, apparent contradictory results are also reported for GO in PLA and keratin, for which either a decrease in the thermal stability or an increase has been reported (Liu et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2020;Wu et al, 2020;Esparza et al, 2017). The differences between the different data in the literature can be interpreted as differences due to the functionalization of GO (in the case of PLA) and to the matrix feature, such as the presence of poly(ethylene oxide) as a blend component (in the case of keratin), as well as differences in the interaction between GO and the polymeric matrix.…”

Preparation Methods and Functional Characteristics of Regenerated Keratin-Based Biofilms

“…However, ensuring a high grafting rate and uniformity of grafting products is still the key to grafting modification. Blending modification involves the selection of certain functional polymers, such as thermoplastic polyurethane, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyethylene oxide, to mix with keratin in order to form macroscopic homogeneous films [ 95 , 96 , 97 ]. Blending modification not only can maintain the inherent characteristics of keratin film but can also make up for the defects of keratin film through the synergistic effect between keratin and the functional polymer(s).…”

3D-Printable Sustainable Bioplastics from Gluten and Keratin

“…It is categorized into α and β types and is commonly found in hair, nails, and feathers [10] and is capable of the formation of disulfide bonds, primarily facilitated by sulfur-containing amino acids like cysteine [2]. Due to its excellent film-forming characteristics in the presence of glycerol, prior research has explored keratin in the context of biopolymer films by blending hydrolyzed keratin with a diverse array of materials [2,11,12]. The inherent biodegradability and abundance of gluten and keratin make them promising candidates for sustainable materials.…”