shows the moisture uptake decreased for the alcohol
derived starch films when compared to the control (0 wt% alcoholderived)
film. The film produced with the 5 wt% EtOH has the
lowest moisture content. If partial starch oxidation occurred then
some hydrophilic hydroxyl groups of unmodified starch were
replaced by the more hydrophobic carbonyl groups that tend to
absorb less moisture, resulting in reduced film moisture.
Interestingly, film crystallinity increased despite the decrease in
film moisture (compared to the control) an opposite trend than
expected. Generally a reduction in film moisture results in a
decreased crystallinity as the film polymer chains are more strongly
hydrogen bonded with each other that prevents crystal formation.
A similar trend was obtained when sugar cane bagasse fibre (which
contains a crystalline cellulose component) was added to films