Assessment of thermal, crystalline and morphological properties of ellagic acid incorporated PVA, chitosan, PVA/chitosan and PVA/chitosan/gaur gum polymeric films

In the present study, the ellagic acid doped Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Chitosan (CS), PVA/CS and PVA/CS/Guar-gum blend films were prepared and coded as EA-1, EA-2, EA-3 and EA-4, respectively. The physicochemical properties of prepared films were analyzed by using different instrumental techniques. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) results revealed the good interaction and miscibility among the components of the films. The thermal stability of ellagic acid incorporated PVA film (EA-1) shown more thermal stability in contrast with other films confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis. From the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) study, the increased amorphous nature was observed for the EA-3 and EA-4 films. Surface morphology was analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) which illustrates that prepared films exhibits smooth and homogeneous surface after blending with ellagic acid. The results obtained by measuring water contact angles (WCA) revealed that all the films have hydrophilic nature. All the prepared films have exhibited good mechanical properties, hence prepared films can act as promising material for food packaging application.