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Effects of the molecular weight on the properties of thermoplastics prepared from soy protein isolate
Author(s) -
Wu Qiangxian,
Zhang Lina
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.2196
Subject(s) - crystallinity , differential scanning calorimetry , ultimate tensile strength , soy protein , materials science , thermoplastic , scanning electron microscope , composite material , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , chemistry , food science , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
Commercial soy protein isolate (SPI) was fractionated into four fractions by an acidifying method from pH 5.7 to 4.5 with 2 M HCl. A mixture of SPI with glycerin (50 g/100 g of dry SPI) was compression‐molded to obtain thermoplastic sheets. The weight‐average molecular weight ( M w ) of the fractions, the structure, and the mechanical properties of the thermoplastic SPI sheets were investigated with light scattering, IR spectroscopy, wide X‐ray diffraction patterns, differential scanning calorimetry, ultraviolet spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and tensile testing. After heating compression, the SPI sheets were transparent and exhibited a smooth and homogeneous structure. Moreover, the crystallinity degree of the thermoplastic SPI was obviously higher than that of the premix before compression because of the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The M w 's of the fractions were 1.17 × 10 5 to 3.21 × 10 5 , and they increased with increasing pH value in fractionation. The mechanical properties and water resistance ( R ) of the SPI sheets increased with increasing M w of the SPI fractions. The tensile strength and breaking elongation of the SPI sheets with an M w value of 3.21 ×10 5 were 5.7 MPa and 135%, respectively, and the R value was 0.54 after immersion in water for 15 days. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 3373–3380, 2001