Preparation and Study of Some Physical and Mechanical Properties of Plasticized Chitosan Films

Abstract

Biodegradable polymer-based packaging materials are a practical replacement for traditional plastic packaging made of fossil fuels. The molecular weight and the kind of plasticizer present in these materials are the two primary variables influencing their usability and performance. This study set out to physically blend chitosan to enhance the physical and mechanical properties of chitosan cast films. A chitosan extract with a molecular weight of 2.702x10⁵ g/mole with an 80% degree of deacetylation level was produced from the shells of local shrimp. Chitosan films plasticized with varied w/w ratios of diethylene glycol and poly(ethylene glycol) with molecular weights of 400 and 1500 g/mole were produced by casting from 2%acetic acid solutions. By using FTIR to analyze them, it was found that their spectra were compared to those of native chitosan, showing that the main backbone of the chitosan structure was unaffected. An examination of the mechanical properties of the films revealed that the results of the tensile strength measurement showed that the combination of diethylene glycol and poly(ethylene glycol) improved the mechanical properties of chitosan as films were obtained with more elasticity than unplasticized chitosan with better solubility.