Preparation and Properties of Agar/Konjac Glucomannan/Ethyl Cellulose Composite Film

To develop a kind of food packaging material with good hydrophobicity, agar/konjac glucomannan (AK) composite film incorporated with ethyl cellulose (EC) was developed. The effect of the addition of EC on the microstructure, mechanical properties and water resistance ability (swelling rate, dissolution rate and water vapor transmittance) of the composite film were explored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and texture analyzer. The results showed that the EC molecular chain in AKE composite film was not completely extended, and the addition of EC inhibited the crystallization of agar. Compared with AK composite film, the AKE-25% composite film had the highest elongation at break (15.08%) and water vapor transmittance (9.88×10⁻¹²·g·cm/(cm²·s·Pa)). The dissolution rate decreased from 40.70% to 25.64%. Therefore, the inclusion of EC improved the ductility and water resistance for Agar/KGM/EC composites.