LAUSR

Cellulose and silk blended biomaterial films were regenerated from ionic liquid solution and investigated to characterize and understand the effect of inter- and intra-molecular interactions upon the morphology and thermal properties. The blended films were dissolved in 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid, coagulated and regenerated with water. Various characterization techniques were implemented to characterize structural, morphological and thermal properties: FTIR, SEM, TGA, DSC and X-ray scattering. The results showed that the cellulose microcrystalline structure and β-sheets from the silk can be disrupted by inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen bonds forming intermediate semicrystalline or amorphous structures. The SEM showed morphological effects of such interactions that cause varying thermal degradation and glass transition temperature. The X-ray scattering confirms such findings at the molecular level, demonstrating that the cellulose microfibril diameter decreases as the silk content increases. It also shows that the β-sheets size increases as the cellulose content increases. These various techniques provide evidence that suggest the hydrogen bonds between the β-sheets and the glucose units in the cellulose chains control the thermal and structural properties of the blended films, changing the morphology and physicochemical properties.