Eco-friendly plasticisation of bacterial cellulose using natural additives for sustainable material applications

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an environmentally friendly material that exhibits remarkable properties. However, in order to exploit the full potential of this material, appropriate modifications must be made, such as plasticization. This is because the material contains large amounts of water in its structure, the removal of which results in stiffening of the material. In this article, a modification method employing natural substances that facilitates the plasticisation of bacterial cellulose is presented. The plasticisers employed in this study were rapeseed oil and glycerine. The following substances were utilised as additives and auxiliary materials: ethyl alcohol, chlorophyll, silica, and carbon black. The modified material was characterised by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurement, and static mechanical analysis. The modification resulted in a material with increased elasticity. The research presented herein constitutes an effort to develop a novel, eco-friendly material derived from bacterial cellulose. The objective of this endeavour is to facilitate the substitution of animal skins and synthetic polymer products with this novel material.