Plasticized hemicelluloses/chitosan-based edible films reinforced by cellulose nanofiber with enhanced mechanical properties

Jiyuan Xu; Ruirui Xia; Lu Zheng; Tongqi Yuan; Runcang Sun

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115164

Plasticized hemicelluloses/chitosan-based edible films reinforced by cellulose nanofiber with enhanced mechanical properties

Carbohydr Polym. 2019 Nov 15:224:115164. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115164. Epub 2019 Aug 5.

Authors

Jiyuan Xu¹, Ruirui Xia², Lu Zheng³, Tongqi Yuan⁴, Runcang Sun⁵

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
² Shandong Longlive Bio-Technology Co. Ltd., Shandong, 251200, China.
³ Jining Mingsheng New Materials Co. Ltd., Shandong, 272000, China.
⁴ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China. Electronic address: ytq581234@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁵ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China; Center for Lignocellulose Science and Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, 116034, China. Electronic address: rcsun3@bjfu.edu.cn.

PMID: 31472866
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115164

Abstract

In this work, the properties of the plasticized hemicelluloses/chitosan-based edible films reinforced by cellulose nanofiber (CNF) have been evaluated. Results showed that the tensile strength (TS) of the film increased by 2.3 times with adding 5% CNF. As compared with unplasticized film, the films containing 10-40% plasticizers (glycerol, xylitol, sorbitol) showed slightly higher water vapor permeability, oxygen permeability, transparency, solubility, and lower contact angle. Among the three types of plasticized films, glycerol-plasticized films exhibited the highest tensile strain at break (TB, 7.80-18.53%), while the sorbitol-plasticized films exhibited the highest TS (23.14-48.96 MPa). However, there were no substantial differences in the three types of plasticized films except TS and TB. Overall, the films containing 20-30% glycerol with high TS (31.02-38.56 MPa) and TB (10.07-15.98%) were suitable for food-packaging applications where high mechanical strength and flexibility are required.

Keywords: Chitosan; Edible films; Hemicelluloses; Plasticizers; Tensile strain at break; Tensile strength.