Synthesis of Transparent and Flexible Supporting Films from Cellulose Acetate

In this work, we developed a method to fabricate transparent substrate films derived from cellulose acetate. We combined blends of cellulose acetate with organic solvents such as DMSO, SMF, THF, acetone and glycerol, taking into consideration the mechanical and optical properties of the resulting films. In the first stage of investigation, we studied the concentrations of cellulose acetate with acetone or glycerol solvents, and determined the appropriate concentration of cellulose acetate with Acetone (CA/A); we then performed further studies with DMSO, DMF, and THF solvents using a 10 wt% stock solution, and decreased the concentration with dilution factor of 2. The solutions were deposited on silicon wafers using spin coating and drop-cast processes. UV-Vis analysis was used to measure film transmission from 200 to 750 nm. In addition, we used AFM to reveal surface topography of film substructures.