Effects of some external factors on degradation properties of fibrous biopolymers

Effects of some external factors such as chlorinated water of different doses, organic solventsand electrical discharge on mechanical properties and free radical reactions of silk fibroin andwool keratin have been investigated in this study.Degradation processes under mechanical stress have been studied for silk and wool fibreswhich were kept in water, chlorinated water of different doses, some organic solvents fordifferent periods. ESR signals were recorded to observed free radical reactions occurred onsaid fibres by the same solvents and curves of recombination kinetic were obtained.It was proven that the general degradation mechanism of fibrous biopolymers has athermofluctation character and that the said external factors decrease initial degradationactivation energy at which the degradation starts and it affects the degradation mechanism inthis way.It has been realized that macromolecular cross-links are formed for the samples exposed toelectrical discharge for short periods and it has been observed that mechanical life time(mechanical strength) of the fibres increases with this effect.Keywords: Fibrous biopolymer, fibrous protein, silk fibroin, wool keratin, electron spinresonance, free radical, mechanical degradation.