Abstract:
In this work, wheat gluten (WG) was reinforced with attapulgite (ATT) to form a nanocomposites through wet process, freezedrying and thermally compression molding process. TEM and SEM images indicated that the attapulgites were uniformly distributed in the matrix. The mechanical properties of wheat glutenattapulgite nanocomposites reached the maximum strength when the addition of attapulgite was 7%. The biodegradation tests of WGATT nanocomposites showed that the mass of the nanocomposites lost 50% after buried beneath soil for 10 d, and lost over 80% in 20 d. The results showed that the mechanical properties and biodegradability of wheat gluten material could be improved through the formation of nanocomposite with attapulgite.