Conductive biofoams of wheat gluten containing carbon nanotubes, carbon black or reduced graphene oxide

Wu, Qiong; Sundborg, Henrik; Andersson, Richard L.; Peuvot, Kevin; Guex, Leonard Gaston; Nilsson, Fritjof; Hedenqvist, Mikael S.; Olsson, Richard T.

doi:10.1039/c7ra01082f

Cited by 22 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(48 reference statements)

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“…For denaturing the protein and to expose the native functional groups of the WG, the suspension was placed in a preheated water bath at 90 ± 2 °C and stirred 30 min. [ 22,23,69 ] Thereafter, the suspension was cooled to room temperature (RT) with an ice‐bath. For the acylation, the pH of the WG suspension was raised to 12 and gradual amounts of EDTAD were added to the denatured WG over 30 min until reaching 25 wt% EDTAD relative to the WG content (i.e., 25/100 w/w).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Capacity Functionalized Protein Superabsorbents from an Agricultural Co‐Product: A Cradle‐to‐Cradle Approach

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et al. 2020

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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Synthesis of superabsorbent particles from nontoxic wheat gluten (WG) protein, as an industrial co‐product, is presented. A natural molecular cross‐linker named genipin (a hydrogenated glycoside) is used together with a dianhydride (ethylenediaminetetraacetic EDTAD), to enable the preparation of a material with a network structure capable of swelling up to ≈4000% in water and ≈600% in saline solution. This represents an increase in swelling by over 10 times compared to the already highly absorbing gluten reference material. The carboxylation (using EDTAD) and the cross‐linking of the protein result in a hydrogel with liquid retention capacity as high as 80% of the absorbed water remaining in the WG network on extensive centrifugation, which is higher than that of commercial fossil‐based superabsorbents. The results also show that more polar forms of the reacted genipin are more effectively grafted onto the protein, contributing to the swelling and liquid retention. Microscopy of the materials reveals extensive nanoporosity (300 nm), contributing to rapid capillarity‐driven absorption. The use of proteins from agricultural industries for the fabrication of sustainable protein superabsorbents is herein described as an emerging avenue for the development of the next generation daily‐care products with a minimal environmental impact.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Capacity Functionalized Protein Superabsorbents from an Agricultural Co‐Product: A Cradle‐to‐Cradle Approach

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et al. 2020

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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“…13 Conductive WG foams have been obtained using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nanosized carbon black. 14 In addition, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs, ∼1 wt %), 22 cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs, 10 wt %) 23 and CNTs (>10 wt %) 14 were demonstrated to increase the stiffness of the WG material by a factor of up to 10. The CNFs and CNCs are interesting as fillers since they provide reinforcement for a fully biobased and biodegradable material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superabsorbent and Fully Biobased Protein Foams with a Natural Cross-Linker and Cellulose Nanofibers

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Newson

et al. 2019

ACS Omega

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The development of fully natural wheat gluten foams showing rapid and high uptake of water, sheep blood, and saline solution, while maintaining high mechanical stability in the swollen state, is presented. Genipin was added as a natural and polar cross-linker to increase the polarity of the protein chains, whereas cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were added as a reinforcement/stiffener of the foams, alone or in combination with the genipin. The presence of only genipin resulted in a foam that absorbed up to 25 g of water per gram of foam and a more than 15 g uptake in only 8 min. In contrast, with CNF alone, it was not possible to maintain the mechanical stability of the foam during the water uptake and the protein foam disintegrated. The combination of CNF and genipin yielded a material with the best mechanical stability of the tested samples. In the latter case, the foam could be compressed repeatedly more than 80% without displaying any structural damage. The results revealed that a strong network had formed between the wheat gluten matrix, genipin, and cellulose in the foam structure. A unique feature of the absorbent/foam, in contrast to commercial superabsorbents, was that it was able to rapidly absorb nonpolar liquids (here, n-heptane) due to the open-cell structure. The capillary-driven absorption due to the open-cell structure, the high liquid absorption in the cell walls, and the mechanical properties (both in dry and swollen states) of these natural foams make them interesting as a sustainable replacement for a range of petroleum-based foam materials, including absorbent hygiene products such as sanitary pads.

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“…In particular, CB fillers were added to alleviate the issue of mechanical property loss due to plasticiser addition in gluten biopolymer. This study is different from the Wu et al [18] investigation because the focus is not on polymer conductivity for electrical applications. Tensile properties, morphological structures, fire-resistance, water uptake, and chemical properties of such resulting composites at the CB contents of 2, 4, and 6 wt% were determined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

The Effect of Carbon Black on the Properties of Plasticised Wheat Gluten Biopolymer

et al. 2020

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Wheat gluten biopolymers generally become excessively rigid when processed without plasticisers, while the use of plasticisers, on the other hand, can deteriorate their mechanical properties. As such, this study investigated the effect of carbon black (CB) as a filler into glycerol-plasticised gluten to prepare gluten/CB biocomposites in order to eliminate the aforementioned drawback. Thus, biocomposites were manufactured using compression moulding followed by the determination of their mechanical, morphological, and chemical properties. The filler content of 4 wt% was found to be optimal for achieving increased tensile strength by 24%, and tensile modulus by 268% along with the toughness retention based on energy at break when compared with those of glycerol-plasticised gluten. When reaching the filler content up to 6 wt%, the tensile properties were found to be worsened, which can be ascribed to excessive agglomeration of carbon black at the high content levels within gluten matrices. Based on infrared spectroscopy, the results demonstrate an increased amount of β-sheets, suggesting the formation of more aggregated protein networks induced by increasing the filler contents. However, the addition of fillers did not improve fire and water resistance in such bionanocomposites owing to the high blend ratio of plasticiser to gluten.

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Conductive biofoams of wheat gluten containing carbon nanotubes, carbon black or reduced graphene oxide

Abstract: Conductive biofoams made from glycerol-plasticized wheat gluten (WGG) are presented as a potential substitute in electrical applications for conductive polymer foams from crude oil.

Cited by 22 publications

References 53 publications

High Capacity Functionalized Protein Superabsorbents from an Agricultural Co‐Product: A Cradle‐to‐Cradle Approach

High Capacity Functionalized Protein Superabsorbents from an Agricultural Co‐Product: A Cradle‐to‐Cradle Approach

Superabsorbent and Fully Biobased Protein Foams with a Natural Cross-Linker and Cellulose Nanofibers

The Effect of Carbon Black on the Properties of Plasticised Wheat Gluten Biopolymer

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