Open Access

ARTICLE

Characterization of Bacterial Cellulose From Oil Palm Shoot Juices and Coconut Juice/Poly(ethylene glycol) Biocomposite

Nantharat Phruksaphithak^1,*, Chalermkiet Kaewnun², Sompong O-Thong²

1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University, Phatthalung, 93210, Thailand.
2 Biotechnology program, Microbial Resource Management Research Unit, Department of Biology, Microbial Resource Management Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University, Phatthalung, 93210, Thailand.

*Corresponding Author: Nantharat Phruksaphithak. Email: .

Journal of Renewable Materials 2019, 7(5), 493-504. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2019.00020

Abstract

A new biocomposite was preformed between bacterial cellulose (BC) pellicle and polyethylene glycol (PEG) at different concentrations (0%, 5, 10%, 15% and 20%) and different molecular weight (600, 1000 and 2000). The structure and mechanical properties of BC/PEG biocomposite were investigated. The results indicated that the properties of the BC were improved by the addition of PEG. The morphology of the BC and BC/PEG blend was examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). These showed that PEG was coated with a large pore size fibril on the BC and the BC/PEG was dense with an even and smooth surface. All the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) thermograms of BC/PEG showed the same functional groups as typical BC and PEG. The DSC result showed that the thermal stability improved which might be associated with a weak interaction between BC and PEG, and may be useful for applications.

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