Effects of Plasticizers on Mechanical Properties, Oxygen Permeability, and Microstructural Characteristics of HPMC/Beeswax Composite Film

Abstract

The ability to plasticize Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose/Beeswax (HPMC/BW) composites depends on plasticizers and their concentration. This paper conducted studying on the impacts of plasticizers to HPMC/BW properties. The plasticizers were used in this research included Glycerol (G), Propylene Glycol (PG), and Polyethylene Glycol 400 (PEG 400) which had the concentration changed in range of 1-3%. HPMC/BW composite films incorporated with 2% of plasticizers formed films with the best characteristics among three tested concentration. Tensile strength and elastic modulus of films were decreased when adding plasticizers, whereas elongation at break were increased. Therefore, it caused an increase in oxygen permeability of HPMC/BW films in comparison with the control film. However, Glycerol showed the lowest Oxygen Permeability (OP) values compared to other composite films. The films were evaluated its microstructural quality using method of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which had the effects of plasticizers and their efficiencies of plasticizing polymer networks.

Treatment of Water Hyacinth Fibers to Improve Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Green Composite Materials

“…The wavenumber at 1048 and 1049 cm -1 is the tensile vibrations of C-O and O-H of the polysaccharide in cellulose [27][28]. The peaks at wavenumber of 718 cm -1 and 720 cm -1 represent the presence of β-glycoside bonds in polysaccharide vessels [29][30].…”

Effects of Emulsifiers on Engineering and Microstructural Properties of HPMC/Shellac Composite Films

“…The non-emulsified film (Control sample) has high tensile strength and modulus of elasticity but low elongation at break. While the presence of emulsifiers with the ability to act as plasticizers allows the polymer chains to easily slide over each other aiming to resist volatility, increase elongation at break, decrease in tensile strength and elastic modulus of the film when increasing the content of emulsifiers [1,4,15]. The hydrophobic materials were added hydrophilic biopolymers to reduce TS.…”

“…In which, the emulsifiers have a role as additives to stabilize and enhance the dispersion of the emulsion system [3]. The emulsifiers are distributed at the interface between the two phases: the polar ends are in the aqueous phase (HPMC) and the nonpolar ends are in the oil phase (Shellac) [4]. Therefore, the emulsifiers form a protective layer around the dispersed particles to help the emulsion system become more stable [5,6].…”

“…This affects the organization and rearrangement of the components in the membrane. Thereby, it leads to a decrease or loss of membrane transparency as well as intra-and extra molecular interactions among functional groups in fatty acids and HPMC/Sh [1,4,10].…”

“…Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of emulsifiers such as saturated fatty acids (LA, SA) and unsaturated fatty acids (OA) on the engineering and microstructural properties of composite films from HPMC and Shellac. In addition, the research also used glycerol as a plasticizer to reduce brittleness and adjust the mechanical properties of the films [1,4,11].…”