Poly-albumen: Bio-derived structural polymer from polymerized egg white. (September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Owuor, Peter Samora; Tsafack, Thierry; Agrawal, Himani; Hwang, Hye Yoon; Zelisko, Matthew; Li, Tong; Radhakrishnan, Sruthi; Park, Jun Hyoung; Yang, Yingchao; Stender, Anthony S.; Ozden, Sehmus; Joyner, Jarin; Vajtai, Robert; Kaipparettu, Benny A.; Wei, Bingqing; Lou, Jun; Sharma, Pradeep; Tiwary, Chandra Sekhar; Ajayan, Pulickel M.
• Is Part Of: Materials today chemistry. Volume 9(2018)
• Page Start: 73
• Page End: 79
• Publication Date: 2018-09
• Subjects: Egg white -- Polymerization -- Primary amines -- MD simulation -- Strength; Chemistry -- Periodicals; Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Materials science -- Periodicals; Chemistry; Materials -- Research; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 660.282
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mtchem.2018.04.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2468-5194

Abstract

Abstract: Bio-derived materials could play an important role in future sustainable green and health technologies. This work reports the synthesis of a unique egg white-based bio-derived material showing excellent stiffness and ductility by polymerizing it with primary amine-based chemical compounds to form strong covalent bonds. As shown by both experiments and theoretical simulations, the amine-based molecules introduce strong bonds between amine ends and carboxylic ends of albumen amino acids resulting in an elastic modulus of ∼4 GPa, a fracture strength of ∼2 MPa and a high ductility of 40%. The distributed and interconnected network of interfaces between the hard albumen and the soft amine compounds gives the structure its unique combination of high stiffness and plasticity. A range of in-situ local and bulk mechanical tests as well as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, reveal a significant interfacial stretching during deformation and a micro-crack diversion leading to an increased in ductility and toughness. The structure also shows a self-stiffening behavior under dynamic loading and a strength-induced aging suggesting adaptive mechanical behavior. This egg white-derived material could also be developed for bio-compatible and bio-medical applications. Graphical abstract: Image 1