Moisture-induced crossover in the thermodynamic and mechanical response of hydrophilic biopolymer.

ABSTRACT: The use of natural sustainable resources such as wood in green industrial processes is currently limited by our poor understanding of the impact of moisture on their thermodynamic and mechanical behaviors. Here, a molecular dynamics approach is used to investigate the physical response of a typical hydrophilic biopolymer in softwood hemicellulose-xylan-when subjected to moisture adsorption. A unique moisture-induced crossover is found in the thermodynamic and mechanical properties of this prototypical biopolymer with many quantities such as the heat of adsorption, heat capacity, thermal expansion and elastic moduli exhibiting a marked evolution change for a moisture content about 30 wt%. By investigating the microscopic structure of the confined water molecules and the polymer-water interf

SUBMITTER: Zhang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6960215 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature