EFFECTS OF RESORCINOL ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE FILMS

Soy protein isolate (SPI) films were formed by cross linking with resorcinol. The resorcinol content was varied and its effect on mechanical properties was measured. The variation of tensile creep modulus with time for different loadings of resorcinol indicated a higher value when the resorcinol content was 10 and 20% of the weight of SPI. The addition of 20% resorcinol led to an overall increase in the tensile strength from 4.9 to 24.7 MPa and modulus increases from 801 to 1358 MPa than SPI films. The percent elongation was also increased from 3.2 to 8.4 when compared to unmodified SPI film. The impact strength was at a maximum and moisture content at a minimum for 20% resorcinol content.