Preparation of collagen fiber/CaCO3 hybrid materials and their applications in synthetic paper

The collagen fiber/CaCO 3 hybrid materials were successfully prepared via in situ organic-inorganic hybrid technique. The surface morphology, hybrid mechanism, thermal and hydrothermal stability of these materials were investigated, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the size scale and distribution of CaCO 3 particles in collagen fiber relied on the concentration of CaCl 2 . When the CaCl 2 was at low concentration, for example 6 wt%, the in-situ produced CaCO 3 particles were distributed evenly around the collagen fiber, the particle size could be controlled in the range of 2–4 µm and no apparent coagulation of CaCO 3 particles was found. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study revealed the interactions between the collagen fiber and CaCO 3 particles. The water solubility test and TGA analysis indicated that the solubility of collagen fiber in hot water decreased significantly after hybridization with CaCO 3 particles, whereas, the decomposition temperature was improved with increasing of the production of CaCO 3 particles. Moreover, the hybrid materials were used in conjunction with polyurethane and CaCO 3 powder to fabricate a novel synthetic paper. The result showed that the synthetic paper had good writing and printing.