Morphology and biodegradability of microcrystalline cellulose / chitosan films

Abstract

Abstract The microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) chitosan film was produced through solution casting with different composition of chitosan and different plasticizers. Glycerol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used as a plasticizer in the MCC/chitosan film. Several testing on the biodegradability were conducted such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), moisture absorption and soil burial test. Results show that addition of plasticizer able to improve the miscibility of chitosan on the MCC film. According to moisture absorbtion and soil burial test, the addition of plasticizer showed the MCC/chitosan films were better in water resistance due to the plasticizer was able to facilitate the dispersion of chitosan in MCC films. The morphological analysis also found out that better interaction between MCC and chitosan when polyethylene glycol and glycerol was used as plasticizers in the films.