Data on physicochemical properties of active films derived from plantain flour/PCL blends developed under reactive extrusion conditions

The data given below relates to the research paper entitled: “Eco-friendly films prepared from plantain flour/PCL blends under reactive extrusion conditions using zirconium octanoate as a catalyst”, recently published by our research group [1]. This article provides information concerning the physicochemical properties of the above-mentioned film systems: thickness, density, opacity, moisture content and surface moisture.


a b s t r a c t
The data given below relates to the research paper entitled: "Ecofriendly films prepared from plantain flour/PCL blends under reactive extrusion conditions using zirconium octanoate as a catalyst", recently published by our research group [1]. This article provides information concerning the physicochemical properties of the above-mentioned film systems: thickness, density, opacity, moisture content and surface moisture.
& 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Subject area
Polymers.

More specific subject area
Active eco-friendly films derived from plantain flour/PCL blends using zirconium octanoate (Zr(Oct) 4 ) as a catalyst under reactive extrusion (REx) conditions. Type of data Table. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dib

How data was acquired
Thickness was determined with a digital micrometer. Density and moisture content were calculated gravimetrically. Opacity and surface moisture were estimated with the aid of a UV-vis spectrophotometer (u-2001) and a Moisture Analyzer (Model MA150), respectively.

Data format
Raw, calculated and analyzed.

Experimental factors
The films were conditioned at ∼ 57% relative humidity in desiccators at 25°C for 7 days using a saturated NaBr solution.

Experimental features
Film thickness was determined from eighteen random positions on each sample. Film density and moisture contents were determined at 105 7 1°C for 24 h. Film opacity was measured at 600 nm. Surface moisture content of the different films was measured after drying at 105°C for 120 s.

Data source location
Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Data accessibility
Data are presented in this article.

Value of the data
The data gives detailed descriptions of the physicochemical properties of active eco-friendly films based on plantain flour/PCL blends using Zr(Oct) 4 as a catalyst under REx conditions.
The data provides information to researchers about the effects of the catalyst and the PCL-containing blends on the opacity of the materials.

Data
The data given in this study (Table 1) shows the physicochemical properties (thickness, density, opacity, moisture content and surface moisture) of active films derived from plantain flour/PCL blends under REx conditions, described in the article by Gutiérrez and Alvarez [1]. These characteristics add to the properties previously investigated [1]. This data widens the knowledge we have about the physicochemical properties of plantain flour/PCL systems cross-linked under REx conditions using Zr (Oct) 4 as a catalyst. Thickness, density, opacity, moisture content as well as surface moisture were evaluated.

Thickness
Film thickness was determined using a digital micrometer (Micromaster ® , Mitutoyo, USA) with 0.001 mm accuracy. Measurements were taken from eighteen random positions on each sample. Results were reported as the average thickness 7 standard deviation (SD). These mean values were used to determine the density and opacity as described in the following sections.

Density
Film density (ρ) was determined by cutting samples of each film type into 6 mm radius (r) discs. The thickness (e) of the discs was then determined by taking 18 random measurements of each one. Afterwards, the discs were dried at 105°C for 24 h and weighed. The density was then calculated as the ratio between the weight and volume (thickness × area) of each disc using the equation proposed by Gutiérrez [2]: where W i is the initial dry weight, and W f the final dry weight.
Results were reported as the density 7 SD from three measurements.

Opacity
The opacity was determined according to the method proposed by Sukhija et al. [3]. The ultraviolet (UV) and visible light barrier properties of dried films were measured at selected wavelengths between 400 and 800 nm using a UV-vis spectrophotometer (u-2001, Japan). Film opacity was measured at 600 nm and calculated using the following equation given by Han and Floros [4]: where: A 600 ¼ the absorbance at 600 nm and "e" ¼ film thickness (mm).

Moisture content (MC)
Moisture content of the films was calculated gravimetrically. For this, square-shaped samples (4 cm 2 ) were weighed using an analytical balance ( 70.0001 g; Ohaus, USA) in order to determine their initial mass (m i ). The samples were then placed in an oven at 105 7 1°C (Memmert, Germany) for 24 h until constant weight (final dry mass ¼ m d ) was reached. All the tests were performed in triplicate, and the means 7 SD were reported. Moisture content was determined by the following equation: 2.1.5. Surface moisture The surface moisture contents of the films were determined using a Moisture Analyzer, Model MA150 (Goettingen, Germany). Square shaped samples (2 × 2 cm) were dried at 105°C for 120 s. Measurements were then conducted in triplicate for each film and the results were reported as % of average surface moisture 7 SD.