Chemically Plasticized Chitosan Films by Grafting Succinic Acid: Surface Roughness and Mechanical Properties

Abstract: A useful alternative to conventional plastic packaging manufactured from fossil fuels is packaging constructed of a biodegradable polymer. The final qualities of the chitosan cast films heavily depend on the type of plasticizer used and how it is incorporated into the chitosan-based material. This work investigates the synthesis of chitosan chemically grafted with succinic acid to improve the physical and mechanical properties of the film. The cortex of local shrimp was used to make a chitosan extract with a molecular weight of 2.702x105 g/mole and a deacetylation level of 80%. The chemically plasticized chitosan film was characterized by FTIR. It was found that chitosan and grafted chitosan film spectra were different from each other, implying the true grafting of succinic acid had occurred and 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 an improvement in the strength and %elongation at break for the chitosan grafted with succinic acid cast film for packaging, which is one of the potential applications for biodegradable chitosan. Keywords: Chitosan, Chemical plasticization, Films, Tensile strength, Surface roughness