Cross‐linked Chitosan/Corn Cob Biocomposite Films with Salicylaldehyde on Tensile, Thermal, and Biodegradable Properties: A Comparative Study

The focus of this research paper was to study the properties of uncrosslinked and cross-linked chitosan (CS)/corn cob (CC) biocomposite films with salicylaldehyde (SAL). The uncrosslinked and cross-linked CS/CC biocomposite films with SAL were prepared through solvent casting method. The SAL is used as cross-linking agent in biocmposite films. The effect of CC content and SAL on the tensile, thermal, biodegradation properties, and morphological study of CS/CC biocomposite films are investigated. The tensile strength and elongation at break of CS/CC cob biocomposite films decreases, but modulus of elasticity increases with increasing CC content. However, the addition of SAL showed 59.47% and 25.18% of improvement in average tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of cross-linked CS/CC biocomposite films, respectively, as compared to uncrosslinked biocomposite films. The cross-linked biocomposite films exhibited higher thermal stability than uncrosslinked biocomposite films. Moreover, the cross-linked biocomposite films with SAL cross-linking agent showed lower weight loss in enzyme and soil biodegradation as compared to uncrosslinked biocomposite films. As a comparison, the cross-linked biocomposite films with SAL showed the highest properties compared to others cross-linking agent such as glutaraldehyde and epichlorohydrin as reported in our previous study.