Facilitating protein denaturation in organic solvent and the contribution to the promoting dispersion of graphite nanoplatelets in a polymer

Abstract

Denatured proteins, natural macromolecules are very attractive for advanced nanocomposites owing to their multiple functional chemical groups. However, denaturation processes were only successfully conducted in an aqueous environment, limiting their broad applications in hydrophobic polymers. In this study, we report an effective approach of denaturing soy protein at nanoscale in an organic solvent. Further, the denatured soy protein was found to be able to infiltrate between the graphite nanoplatelet (GNP) layers to reduce the thickness of GNPs and improve the dispersion of the nanoparticles in either the suspension or the final polymeric nanocomposites. As a result, remarkable improvements in transparency and electrical conductivity have been achieved for the nanocomposites with the GNPs treated by the denatured soy protein.

Keywords

• Nanocomposites
• Soy protein
• Denaturation
• Biotreatment of nanofillers
• Organic solvent