Incorporation of fibroin from Bombyx mori and nanotubes in polyamide 6 systems

• Main Authors: Paulo Rodrigo Stivial Bittencourt, Luciano Moura de Souza, Natália Zanotelli, Fernando Reinoldo Scremin
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Federal de Campina Grande 2018-09-01
• Series: Acta Brasiliensis
• Online Access: http://revistas.ufcg.edu.br/ActaBra/index.php/actabra/article/view/118

Silk fibroin is a natural biopolymer from Bombyx mori (silkworm) that has excellent thermal stability and mechanical strength. Amounts of this biopolymer is rejected in the industrial process due to the choice of viable cocoons for the production of superior quality silk. This research aimed to reuse the natural biopolymer from B. mori to produce systems, melt processes, polyamide 6 mixtures with carbon nanotube (MWNT) functionalized with carboxyl and fibroin. The polymeric film was obtained by casting using formic acid as the solvent. The results show an increase in the mechanical stability of the films with the presence of fibroin and MWNT in the nylon 6 composites, having reached a modulus of elasticity of 4.0 GPa with 0.025% of nanotube in the composite. Thus, the incorporation of fibroin, extracted from cocoons considered defective, in composite with polyamide 6 and carbon nanotube functionalized with carboxyl, which the aim was improve the mechanical stability in these systems.