Fig. 3: Mechanical properties and dimensional stability of BM-plastic.

a Tensile stress-strain curves of BM-gel (water content 82.7 ± 0.5 wt%) and BM-plastic. Insets show the digital images of BM-gel with flexibility and BM-plastic with rigidity. b Comparison of the tensile strength and elastic modulus of BM-gel and BM-plastic. c Three-point bending stress-strain curves of BM-gel and BM-plastic. d Comparison of the flexural strength and elastic modulus of BM-gel and BM-plastic. Insets show the digital images of BM-plastic with good toughness during three-point flexural test. e Load–displacement curves for static nanoindentation tests of BM-gel and BM-plastic. f Investigating the DMA behavior of BM-gel and BM-plastic. g Digital images of BM-plastic, showing good mechanical integrity when treated at 100 °C and −30 °C for 7 days, respectively. h Assessment of volume changes in BM-plastic subjected to temperatures of 100 °C and −30 °C for 7 days. i Rate of volume change in BM-plastic under an atmospheric condition with 70% RH over 30 days. Values in (b, d, h, and i) represent their means ± SDs from n = 5 independent samples.