Structure and functional properties of cellulose acetate films incorporated with glycerol

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers Vol. 209; pp. 190 - 197
• Main Authors: Gonçalves, Sheyla Moreira, dos Santos, Daiane Cardial, Motta, Joyce Fagundes Gomes, Santos, Regiane Ribeiro dos, Chávez, Davy William Hidalgo, Melo, Nathália Ramos de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2019
• Subjects: Food packaging; Mechanical properties; Physicochemical properties; Plasticizer; Mechanical properties; Food packaging; Plasticizer; Physicochemical properties
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.01.031

•The films incorporated with glycerol showed to be thicker.•FTIR spectra demonstrated chemical interaction between the polymer matrix and glycerol.•The films incorporated with glycerol showed opaque, luminous, yellowish and reddish.•Cellulose acetate films with glycerol showed changes of the mechanical properties. Tests were performed with cellulose acetate films (CA) incorporating 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50% (w/v) of glycerol with the purpose of evaluating the possible changes caused by the plasticizer on the functional properties of the packaging. The glass transition temperature (Tg) and relative crystallinity (RC) were are obtained by DSC and XRD, respectively. The results showed that, the presence of glycerol in the films caused increased thickness, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), and optical properties for most treatments. Moreover, morphological changes were evidenced in scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A reduction of tensile strength (TS) and Young's modulus (YM) was observed only in the concentration of 50% of glycerol. Therefore, the results suggest that there was an interaction between glycerol and cellulose acetate, demonstrating that the film has potential for use as food packaging.