Alginate and soy protein isolate blend fibers were prepared by spinning their solution through a viscosetype spinneret into a novel coagulating bath containing aqueous CaCl2, HCl, and ethanol. The structures and properties of the fibers were studied with the aids of infrared spectra (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Mechanical properties and water-retention properties were measured. And with the sample of AS1 fiber (soy protein isolate weight content was 10), the effects of the composition of the novel coagulating bath were also studied. The best values of the tensile strength of AS1 were 14.1 cN/tex in the dry state and 3.46 cN/tex in the wet state, respectively. Both the dry state and wet state breaking elongation were also having the best value 20.71 and 56.7 with AS1. Mechanical properties of the AS1 enhanced with the CaCl, content increased in the coagulating bath. When the HCl content was 1, the mechanical property of the fiber was best. Ethanol in the coagulating bath increased the wet mechanical properties of the fiber by 41.2 (tensile strength) and 45.1 (breaking elongation) when the ethanol weight content in the coagulating bath was 50; but it had little effect on the dry mechanical properties. And the water-retention value (WRV) of blend fibers decreased as the amount of soy protein isolate was raised. The structure analysis indicated that there were strong interaction and a certain level of miscibility between alginate and soy protein isolate. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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