Structure and functional properties of cellulose acetate films incorporated with glycerol

Tests were performed with cellulose acetate films (CA) incorporating 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50% (w/v) of glycerol with the purpose of evaluating the possible changes caused by the plasticizer on the functional properties of the packaging. The glass transition temperature (Tg) and relative crystallinity (RC) were are obtained by DSC and XRD, respectively. The results showed that, the presence of glycerol in the films caused increased thickness, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), and optical properties for most treatments. Moreover, morphological changes were evidenced in scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A reduction of tensile strength (TS) and Young's modulus (YM) was observed only in the concentration of 50% of glycerol. Therefore, the results suggest that there was an interaction between glycerol and cellulose acetate, demonstrating that the film has potential for use as food packaging.