Open Access
ARTICLE
Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polyvinyl alcohol/ Silk Fibroin-Based Composite with Improved Strength
XINGMIN XU1, QINGQING SUN2, AIRONG XU2, XINBAO GUO2
1
School of Forensic Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang,
Henan 471000, P. R. China.
2
School of Chemical Engineering & Pharmaceutics, Henan University of Science and
Technology, Luoyang, Henan 471000, P. R. China.
* Corresponding Author: e-mail:
Journal of Polymer Materials 2022, 39(1-2), 167-181. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2022.39.1-2.11
Abstract
Silk fibroin (SF) with renewability, biocompatibility and biodegradability shows potential
application in various fields including biomedicine, tissue engineering, and wearable electronic
devices. Herein, SF is used to exert effective reinforcement of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite
film to further improve its practicability. As such, PVA/SF composite films were prepared for the
first time using a facile approach. The films were characterized to investigate possible interaction
of PVA with SF. Meanwhile, systematic investigations have also been completed to explore the
influences of PVA/SF mass ratio on the mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at
break), biodegradability and biocompatibility, the morphology, crystallinity, chemical structure
and thermostability. It is interesting to find that SF in the PVA/SF can remarkedly exert
reinforcement efficacy and improve the mechanical properties, biodegradability and
biocompatibility. Due to the reinforcement efficacy of SF, the tensile strength and elongation at
break of the PVA/SF material are higher than that of neat PVA material by about 28% and
286%, respectively. Moreover, the materials are biodegradable and biocompatible. The simple
and maneuverable approach as well as high-performance properties possessed by the materials
will further broaden their practical application.
Keywords
Cite This Article
APA Style
XU, X., SUN, Q., XU, A., GUO, X. (2022). Biodegradable and biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol/ silk fibroin-based composite with improved strength. Journal of Polymer Materials, 39(1-2), 167-181. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2022.39.1-2.11
Vancouver Style
XU X, SUN Q, XU A, GUO X. Biodegradable and biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol/ silk fibroin-based composite with improved strength. J Polym Materials . 2022;39(1-2):167-181 https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2022.39.1-2.11
IEEE Style
X. XU, Q. SUN, A. XU, and X. GUO "Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polyvinyl alcohol/ Silk Fibroin-Based Composite with Improved Strength," J. Polym. Materials , vol. 39, no. 1-2, pp. 167-181. 2022. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2022.39.1-2.11