Clay-gelatin nanocomposites of improved properties

Transparent clay-gelatin nanocomposite films were made through solution processing. These films exhibit enhanced physical performance. The Young's modulus of the composite film was 8.3 GPa, almost 3 times that of gelatin alone, by dispersing only 10 wt% of one type of montmorillonite clay into the nano-sized phase in the gelatin. With the addition of the clay nanoparticles, the melting point of the gelatin increases and the crystallinity decreases. The property enhancements of gelatin are affected by the dispersion of particles (i.e., intercalation and exfoliation), particle properties (i.e., particle aspect ratio), and particle alignment, as studied by XRD and TEM.