The Improved Properties of Carboxymethyl Bacterial Cellulose Films with Thickening and Plasticizing

Zhenbing Sun; Zhengjie Tang; Xiaoping Li; Xiaobao Li; Jeffrey J Morrell; Johnny Beaugrand; Yao Yao; Qingzhuang Zheng

doi:10.3390/polym14163286

The Improved Properties of Carboxymethyl Bacterial Cellulose Films with Thickening and Plasticizing

Polymers (Basel). 2022 Aug 12;14(16):3286. doi: 10.3390/polym14163286.

Authors

Zhenbing Sun¹, Zhengjie Tang¹, Xiaoping Li^{1

2}, Xiaobao Li¹, Jeffrey J Morrell³, Johnny Beaugrand⁴, Yao Yao¹, Qingzhuang Zheng¹

Affiliations

¹ Yunnan Key Laboratory of Wood Adhesives and Glue Products, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China.
² International Joint Research Center for Biomass Materials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China.
³ National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life, University of the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia.
⁴ Biopolymères Interactions Assemblages (BIA), INRA, Rue de la Géraudière, F-44316 Nantes, France.

Abstract

This study aims to improve the thermal stability and mechanical properties of carboxymethyl bacterial cellulose (CMBC) composite films. Experiments were conducted by preparing bacterial cellulose (BC) into CMBC, then parametrically mixing sodium alginate/starch/xanthan gum/gelatin and glycerin/sorbitol/PEG 400/PEG 6000 with CMBC to form the film. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy, mechanical tests, and thermogravimetric analysis showed that the composite films had better mechanical properties and thermal stability with the addition of 1.5% CMBC (% v/v), 1% sodium alginate, and 0.4% glycerin. Tensile strength was 38.13 MPa, the elongation at break was 13.4%, the kinematic viscosity of the film solution was 257.3 mm²/s, the opacity was 4.76 A/mm, the water vapor permeability was 11.85%, and the pyrolysis residue was 45%. The potential causes for the differences in the performance of the composite films were discussed and compared, leading to the conclusion that CMBC/Sodium alginate (SA)/glycerin (GL) had the best thermal stability and mechanical properties.

Keywords: elongation at break; glycerin; sodium alginate; tensile strength.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation (31870551), the Top Young Talents in Yunnan Province (YNWR-QNBJ-2018-120), and the 111 Project (D21027).