Cazón Díaz, PatriciaVázquez Vázquez, ManuelVelázquez, Gonzalo2025-01-122025-01-122019-03-29Cazón, P., Vázquez, M. and Velazquez, G. (2019) ‘Composite films with UV-barrier properties based on bacterial cellulose combined with chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol): Study of puncture and water interaction properties’, Biomacromolecules, 20(5), pp. 2084–2095. doi:10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00317.1525-7797https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38514This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Biomacromolecules, copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00317The present study describes the preparation and characterization of composite films from bacterial cellulose produced by Komagataeibacter xylinus combined with poly(vinyl alcohol) and chitosan. The unique bacterial cellulose structure provides an expanded surface area with high porosity, easing the combination with other soluble polymers by dipping. This blending method effectively reinforces the bacterial cellulose structure. Toughness, puncture strength, water solubility, and swelling degree were measured to assess the effect of poly(vinyl alcohol) and chitosan on the analyzed properties. The morphology and optical and thermal properties were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis spectral analysis, thermogravimetry, and differential scanning calorimetry, respectively. Results showed that the films have good UV-barrier properties and high thermal stability. Toughness values ranged from 0.26 to 7.18 MJ/m3, burst strength ranged from 58.88 to 3234.62 g, and distance to burst ranged from 0.39 to 3.24 mm. Poly(vinyl alcohol) affected the water solubility and increased the swelling degree.engAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/BiopolymersCellulose Optical properties Polymers SolubilityCelluloseOptical propertiesPolymersSolubilityjournal article10.1021/acs.biomac.9b003171526-4602open access