ANALYSIS OF THE PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THERMOPLASTIC GELATIN FILMS OBTAINED BY VARIOUS METHODS AND THEIR COMPUTER-MODELED STRUCTURE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15421/jchemtech.v34i2.346352Keywords:
thermoplastic gelatin; glycerol; water; film; mechanical properties; DFT.Abstract
The mixing steps involved in the formation of biodegradable thermoplastic films based on natural polymers limit the ability to achieve the desired properties. The production of thermoplastic gelatin films involves modifying the gelatin matrix with plasticizers to impart thermoplastic properties, allowing it to be processed through traditional plastic manufacturing methods. In this work, water and Glycerol plasticizer were used to modify the bovine gelatin matrix. Plasticizers were added to the gelatin composition in various proportions (from 20 wt% to 100 wt%), and film samples were obtained. Thermoplastic gelatin films were produced by casting a solution onto a defined surface, employing three different methods: by altering the stages of introducing the plasticizer into the gelatin matrix (in 2 methods) and by introducing an additional stirring step during the heating of the solution. The resulting thermoplastic gelatin films were subjected to mechanical tests and compared in terms of relative elongation at break and strength. It was found that the mechanical strength and Young's modulus of gelatin films plasticized with glycerol decreased with increasing glycerol content in gelatin, and the relative elongation at break increased. The computer-modeled structure was analyzed using density functional theory (DFT) to study the electronic structures and interactions of the gelatin biopolymer with plasticizers. The electronic characteristics of the HOMO and LUMO orbitals and the frontier orbitals of the system were calculated.
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