Preparation,properties, and characterization of novel fine leather fibers/polyvinyl alcohol composites

The water‐based dispersion of fine leather fibers (FLF) was firstly prepared in our laboratory by high pressure homogenization. The solution casting method of water‐based dispersion of FLF and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used to fabricate the composite films. In this study, the influences of FLF content on the structures and properties of resulting composites were investigated systematically. Experimental results showed that there was an obvious small size effect of FLF in the composite films. Esterification and etherification reactions between FLF and PVA were confirmed by FTIR analysis; XRD and DSC analyses showed that FLF had the nucleation effect on PVA. The micrograph of SEM revealed that composite film with 40 wt% FLF content had compact internal structure and vague interface, and its value of tensile strength could reach maximum 51.8 MPa. Besides, TGA test showed that the thermal stability of composite films with FLF content beyond 30 wt% were much greater than that of PVA at temperature above 350°C. Moreover, composite films were deprived of hydrophilicity to a certain extent and the antibacterial rate of composite films with 40 wt% and 60 wt% FLF content were more than 90% totally. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1186–1194, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers