3.1.8. Thermal properties
In most applications it is important to know the thermal stability
of the material employed. TGA thermograms representing
thermal degradation behavior of CM films with different glycerol
concentrations are presented in Fig. 1.
The degradation temperature range, temperature peak, weight
loss, and residue of these film samples are provided in Table 5.
CM films exhibited three main stages of weight loss (Fig. 1). The
first stage corresponded of to early minor weight loss attributed to
Fig. 1. Thermo-gravimetric curves of CM films. Numbers denoted the level of glycerol
concentration (% based on CM weight).
desorption of moisture linked by hydrogen bounds to the polysaccharide
structure (Zohuriaan & Shokrolahi, 2004). The second stage
of weight loss corresponded to glycerol plasticizer volatilization.
The third stage of weight loss, which was highest, corresponded