Tensile properties of bamboo fiber/zein composite films based on biochar enhancement

In order to improve the tensile properties of zein films, composite films were prepared using ball milled bamboo biochar (0.536 μm) and bamboo fibers (2.157 μm) as enhanced phase and zein as continuous phase by solution pouring method. The basic features and tensile properties of the composite films were studied. The results show that biochar and bamboo fiber do not change the crystal structure of zein, and they increase the disorder, reduce the fragility, and improve the toughness of zein. The addition of biochar improves the hydrophobicity, accelerates the thermal decomposition, and improves the tensile properties of the bamboo fiber/zein composite films. As a comparison, the best tensile properties of the composites films is obtained by adding 0.2 g bamboo fiber and 0.1 g biochar, its tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break are 0.24 MPa, 4.17 MPa, and 327.27%, respectively. The composite films prepared in this study exhibit good toughness showing application potential in packaging film materials.