Performance of biodegradable soy-based polymer and nanocomposite with reduced moisture absorptivity

Background: Increased level of pollutions has led to the serious environmental problems and given a way to develop the better biodegradable polymers. Soy-based polymers have been widely developed and used for the packaging purposes, but these polymers were reported to be degraded due to the high moisture absorptivity, which leads to the spoilage of the packed food at a quicker rate. Aim: This research sheds a light on the preparation of soy-based polymer and nanocomposite having a low absorptivity by a wet method using Palmitic Acid (PA). Method: PA was added up to 30% by the weight of soy protein isolate, in addition glycerol was used as the plasticizer and 25% PA was found to be the optimum. The polymer sheets were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Thermal Gravimetric-DTA and Scanning Electron Microscopy analyses. In addition, the moisture content and tensile studies were monitored. For the preparation of nanocomposite, soy-based nanoparticles were synthesized by grafting. Result: The generated nanocomposite has shown the reduced moisture absorptivity and higher mechanical properties.