A Comparison Study of Wheat Gluten Composites Filled with Dialdehyde Starch and Native Starch

Environmentally friendly green composites were prepared by blending Wheat gluten (WG) as matrix, dialdehyde starch (DAS) as filler and glycerol as plasticizer followed by compression molding of the mixture at 110 °C. The properties of the WG/DAS composite are compared with those of the WG/native wheat starch (NWS) composites. While tensile strength and strain at break decrease with increasing NWS content in the WG/NWS composites, a small content of DAS could improve tensile strength and strain at break simultaneously in the WG/DAS composites. The WG/DAS composites exhibit reduced moisture absorption in comparison with the WG/NEW composites. Formation of chemical bonding between DAS and WG is beneficial for the dispersion of DAS in the WG matrix and WG/DAS composites exhibit improved mechanical properties and reduced moisture absorption over the WG/NWS composites.