Toughening of thermoset green zein resin: A comparison between natural rubber‐based additives and plasticizers

ABSTRACT Zein‐based brittle thermoset green resin was toughened using sorbitol, natural rubber fibers (NRF), and epoxidized natural rubber fibers (ENRF). NRF and ENRF were electrospun directly into zein slurry. Chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of zein resin containing NRF (Zein/NRF) and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of applied polymer science Vol. 137; no. 13
Main Authors Souzandeh, Hamid, Netravali, Anil N.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 05.04.2020
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects
Additives
biodegradable
biopolymers and renewable polymers
Crosslinking
Fracture toughness
Glass transition temperature
Materials science
Mechanical properties
Modulus of elasticity
Natural rubber
Organic chemistry
Polymers
Rubber
Slurries
Sorbitol
thermosets
Thermosetting resins
Zein
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Summary:ABSTRACT Zein‐based brittle thermoset green resin was toughened using sorbitol, natural rubber fibers (NRF), and epoxidized natural rubber fibers (ENRF). NRF and ENRF were electrospun directly into zein slurry. Chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of zein resin containing NRF (Zein/NRF) and ENRF (Zein/ENRF) were compared with those of sorbitol‐plasticized zein. NRF was found to be immiscible in zein and Zein/NRF resins showed two distinct glass transition temperatures (T g), whereas Zein/ENRF specimens showed significant increases in both T g and degradation temperature (T d) due to crosslinking between zein and epoxidized natural rubber. ENRF was more effective in enhancing fracture toughness of zein than NRF or sorbitol. Increased ENRF loading to 15 wt % showed significant increase in toughness with minimal decreases in strength and Young's modulus. Sorbitol and NRF were unable to improve the toughness of zein resin significantly. Environment‐friendly zein/ENRF resin with higher fracture toughness developed in this study would be suitable in many applications including green composites. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48512.
ISSN:0021-8995
1097-4628
DOI:10.1002/app.48512