Structural features of composite protein-polysaccharide hydrogel in the presence of a carbon nanomaterial

The structures of a protein-polysaccharide composite hydrogel and its modifications prepared using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were studied by small-angle X-ray scattering and scanning electron microscopy. A correlation between the morphology and physicochemical properties of the hydrogels is demonstrated taking the specific electrical conductivity of the hydrogels as an example. It is shown that the specific electrical conductivity is unambiguously related to the structure of the systems studied, viz., the higher the density of cross-links between biopolymer chains the lower the conductivity, and vice versa. It is found that the addition of CNTs to K-carrageenan-gelatin composite hydrogels can lead to either increase or decrease in their electrical conductivity.