Crosslinked swellable clay/egg white bionanocomposites

• Non-soluble and swellable clay/egg white bionanocomposites were prepared.
• The clay crosslinks the proteins of egg white.
• The clay content controls the swelling and drying capabilities of the bionanocomposites.

A series of non-soluble crosslinked bionanocomposites on the basis of natural egg white containing 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt.% of Na-montmorillonite clay were prepared via a facile mixing-drying method. The prepared bionanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The network, thermal, swelling and dehydration properties of bionanocomposites were investigated. The results revealed the creation of a partially delaminated morphology for the prepared bionanocomposites with a uniform dispersion of clay layers inside the egg white matrix. The role of clay as a crosslinker in the creation of a crosslinked egg white network was confirmed. The denaturation behavior of proteins of egg white was affected by incorporated clay to the bionanocomposites. In spite of the pure egg white, the prepared bionanocomposites could absorb water and swell in aqueous solutions. The swelling and dehydration rates of bionanocomposites exhibited an inverse dependency on the incorporated clay loading level and a direct dependency on the swelling temperature. The mechanism governing the mass transfer during the swelling and dehydration of bionanocomposites is Fickian and non-Fickian, respectively.

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