Dieter Rahmadiawan, Hairul Abral, Shih-Chen Shi, Ilham Chayri Iby, Razan Muhammad Railis, Melbi Mahardika, Dian Juliadmi, Fazhar Akbar
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films mixed with boric acid (BA) and Uncaria gambir (UG) offer excellent UV shielding and moisture resistance but suffer from brittleness. This study introduces a water immersion technique to improve flexibility. The untreated film showed high tensile strength (57.7 MPa) and modulus (3.7 GPa) but low elongation (∼43 %) and toughness (20.2 MJ/m3). After 7 days of immersion, tensile strength and modulus decreased to 41.2 MPa and 1.94 GPa, while elongation and toughness increased to ∼150 % and 58.1 MJ/m3, respectively. This green approach effectively enhances the ductility of PVA-based biopolymer films. © 2025 The Authors
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, 70101, Taiwan; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Sumatera Barat, Padang, 25173, Indonesia; Research Collaboration Center for Nanocellulose, BRIN-Andalas University, West Sumatera, Padang, 25163, Indonesia; Laboratory of Nanoscience and Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Andalas University, Sumatera Barat, Padang, 25163, Indonesia; Department of Industrial Engineering, Institut Teknologi Batam (ITEBA), Batam, Indonesia; Research Center for Biomass and Bioproducts, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong Science Center, West Java, 16911, Indonesia
