Cellulose Film with Air Barrier and Moisture-Conducting Character Fabricated by a Green Process

Abstract

The use of nature polymer to prepare degradable films is a sustainable production concept that can improve resource utilization and reduce the environmental pollution caused by traditional packaging waste or another field. Here, a regenerated cellulose film was prepared through the N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) cellulose system. The most critical peculiarity is that films with air barrier and moisture conduction character, because the surface of film is dense and does not allow small molecules like oxygen to pass through, but water molecules can move freely in the film by means of hydrogen bonds. This shows that the cellulose film has in textiles, food preservation, medicine and other fields. Significantly, the film has good tensile strength (maximum strength reaches 149.5 MPa) and light transmittance (more than 80% at 600 nm). Moreover, the effect of coagulation bath concentration, temperature and the content of glycerin on film strength was discussed.