The Effect of Solvent and Plasticizer on Mechanical Properties of Chitosan-Based Biocomposites

Nowadays, the use of non-oil materials with desirable properties, and at the same timereducing the adverse environmental impacts, has become one of the most importantissues in industry. Chitosan, as one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature, hasunique properties, including high biocompatibility, non-toxicity, acceptable antimicrobialproperties, and excellent performance in terms of film formation. These propertieshave potentially made this biopolymer very useful in packaging industries, textile,pharmaceutical, and papermaking. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to investigatethe effective parameters on the mechanical properties of chitosan biocomposites. Theparameters such as type, concentration, pH, and functional groups of solvents are takeninto consideration in making composites that are used as polymer phase fasteners. Also,the effect of plasticizers on weight percentages to reduce the fragility of chitosan films isdiscussed in this study. It was observed that the addition of each of these materials, due totheir structure and molecular weight, weight percentage, distribution pattern at the matrixlevel, functional groups on their molecules affect the structure of chitosan polymeric chainsand can change the mechanical properties of a biocomposite.