Thermal Properties of Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile-Graf-Antarctic Krill Protein

Antarctic krill proteins (AKP) were grafted onto polyacrylonitrile (PAN) to improve its hygroscopicity. AKP, extracted from Antarctic krill, was activated by maleic anhydride and then reacted with PAN in water to prepare PAN-graft-AKP (PAN-g-AKP). PAN-g-AKP was dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide and the hydrophilic PAN-g-AKP nanofiber was prepared by electrospinning. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic results showed that the protein was grafted to PAN. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that PAN-g-AKP nanofibers had good morphology with a smooth surface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) curves showed that the crystallinity of PAN-g-AKP nanofibers decreased with increased AKP content. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses were also performed. The hygroscopicity of PAN-g-AKP fibers improved over PAN-based fibers based on water retention rate.