Abstract

The thermal stability and the changes in collagen structure of pig hide tanned with poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) were studied by DSC, SEM and X ray diffraction. The paper compares the crystallinity and thermal stability of the hide with that of the leather. It shows that, in dried specimens, the crosslinking between collagen and the PMAA occurs mainly through Coulombic interaction. The formation of the network causes an increase in the denaturation temperature (thermal stability), causes the fibres to be separated and results in a fall in crystallinity of the collagen. In order to investigate the mechanism of the thermal denaturation of the leather the middle stage of thermal denaturation has been investigated in this paper.