Protein-based luminescent aerogels with elastic properties

Gelatin is a famous gel-forming proteinaceous material with excellent hydrogelation properties. Herein, we report that protein nanofibrils (PNFs) can be employed to form hybrids with gelatin that can be converted to aerogels with attractive mechanical properties. Moreover, we are able to influence the gelation behavior of PNFs by mechanochemical processing. A combination of mechanochemistry and aqueous self-assembly is employed to prepare PNFs functionalized with hydrophobic dyes. These materials are then mixed with gelatin and converted into aerogels by freeze drying. We find that PNFs functionalized with PNFs lead to the formation of aerogels with more robust mechanical properties. Mechanochemical methodology as a green and scalable method can thus be employed for influencing the properties of protein-based aerogels. This represents a new and highly flexible and novel strategy for tuning both properties and functionality of protein materials. This work opens a simple and feasible way to produce nontoxic and biodegradable aerogel materials with favorable mechanical strength.