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Enzymatic Hydrophobic Modification of Jute Fibers via Grafting to Reinforce Composites

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Abstract

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP)/H2O2 system catalyzes the free-radical polymerization of aromatic compounds such as lignins and gallate esters. In this work, dodecyl gallate (DG) was grafted onto the surfaces of lignin-rich jute fabrics by HRP-mediated oxidative polymerization with an aim to enhance the hydrophobicity of the fibers. The DG-grafted jute fibers and reaction products of their model compounds were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results clearly indicated the grafting of DG to the jute fiber by HRP. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of jute fabrics was determined by measuring the wetting time and static contact angle. Compared to the control sample, the wetting time and static contact angle of the grated fabrics changed from ~1 s to 1 h and from ~0° to 123.68°, respectively. This clearly proved that the hydrophobicity of jute fabrics improved considerably. Conditions of the HRP-catalyzed DG-grafting reactions were optimized in terms of the DG content of modified jute fabrics. Moreover, the results of breaking strength and elongation of DG-grafted jute/polypropylene (PP) composites demonstrated improved reinforcement of the composite due to enzymatic hydrophobic modification of jute fibers.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51173071), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-12-0883), Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT_15R26) the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JUSRP51312B, JUSRP51505), and the Graduate Student Innovation Plan of Jiangsu Province of China (SJLX_0527).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Science and Technology of Eco-Textile, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China

    Ruirui Liu, Aixue Dong, Xuerong Fan, Yuanyuan Yu, Jiugang Yuan, Ping Wang & Qiang Wang

  2. International Joint Research Laboratory for Textile and Fiber Bioprocesses, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China

    Xuerong Fan, Jiugang Yuan, Qiang Wang & Artur Cavaco-Paulo

  3. Department of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Artur Cavaco-Paulo

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  1. Ruirui Liu
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  2. Aixue Dong
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  3. Xuerong Fan
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  4. Yuanyuan Yu
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  7. Qiang Wang
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  8. Artur Cavaco-Paulo
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Correspondence to Qiang Wang.

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Liu, R., Dong, A., Fan, X. et al. Enzymatic Hydrophobic Modification of Jute Fibers via Grafting to Reinforce Composites. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 178, 1612–1629 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1971-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1971-x

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