Plastics based materials are frequently used in packaging and can be seen universally in both the developed and developing societies. At present, most of the currently used food packaging materials are non-degradable and are creating serious environmental problems. New technologies are being explored and developed to study the complex interaction between the food packaging materials and food. For example, nanocomposite of cellulose constitute environmentally friendly packaging, which is easily recycled by combustion and requires low power consumption in production. There are several such biodegradable materials which are available at a low price, have good mechanical properties and allow disposal in the soil. This is advantageous because biological degradation produces only carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic compounds to name a few. It has also been discovered that biodegradable plastics made of such materials can be disposed of together with organic waste. The widespread use of biopolymers in place of standard plastics would help to reduce the weight of waste. Therefore, biodegradable materials take part in the natural cycle "from nature to nature" and play an important role for environmental sustainability. So in this article, we briefly summarizes the different characteristic of biodegradable polymers being used in food packaging applications.

The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of the addition of carbon nanoparticles (σsp2 hybridization) on the mechanical properties of foamed polystyrene. In this work, we focus on the study of the impact of compressive stress, tensile strength, bending strength, thermal conductivity ratio (λ), and water absorption of expanded polystyrene (EPS) reinforced with reduced graphene oxide and graphite. The results were compared with pristine EPS and reduced graphene oxide-reinforced EPS. All the nanocomposite specimens used for testing had a similar density. The study reveals that the nanocomposites exhibit different thermal conductivities and mechanical properties in comparison to pristine EPS. The enhancement in the properties of the nanocomposite could be associated with a more extensive structure of elementary cells of expanded polystyrene granules.

Experimental investigations presented in this work were focused on the execution of a carousel system with its usability for step-by-step revolutions and the mechanism for clamping the heater, which made it possible to heat substrates individually within the range from 25• C to 300• C. This system was used for depositing the metallic Al films by the magnetron sputtering method on foil made of FeCrAl steel, which found application in the production of metallic catalytic reactors. It was found that in the case of not-heated foil the polycrystalline continuous Al film, which is separated from steel by an amorphous oxide nanofilm obtained spontaneously under influence of weather conditions, was created. The deposition of aluminium on foil heated to the temperature of 300• C caused the film marked by fine grains integrated with small forces to be formed. These differences had an influence on the morphology of the oxide films.

The investigations were aimed to characterize the oxide films (Al2O3) in terms of the crystal structure development and their impact on increase in mechanical distribution of Pt in volume of the film, as a system predisposed to carry out catalytic processes. The morphology and phase composition of oxide films formed on the surface of FeCrAl steel foil coated with Al and Pt films and Al/Pt composition films after oxidation at high temperature were investigated. All samples with films were oxidized in an atmosphere containing 67% O2/Ar at 850 ° C in a period of 24 h. As a result of the oxidation processes there were formed θ-Al2O3 oxides of whisker structure of a considerable size, while whiskers of θ-Al2O3 oxides formed on the samples coated with Pt films were smaller but with higher density. There was also α-Al2O3 phase in the form of solids in the immediate vicinity of the steel substrate.

The subject of this research is the structure of a Si nanolayer deposited on a FeCrAl wire surface by means of magnetron sputtering method. Si layer was selected as one of possible protections of the wire surface against excessive corrosive-erosive wear. In order to increase the power necessary for the DC discharge of the magnetron with Si cathode, a second magnetron with an aluminum disc as a cathode was used. The wire was attached to a carousel holder to ensure its rotation around the magnetron. The thickness of the deposited layers was about 150 nm. A wire surface examination indicated the presence of defects such as gaps between grains, cavities as well as severely deformed grains of surface layer. The research was conducted on the sample sections which had been prepared by focused ion beam method (FIB). The technique of transmission microscopy, which was used for observation, allowed us to obtain images in bright field (BF), dark field (DF), as well as in high resolution (HREM). The studies were also performed on the wire surface after the cutting process of the expanded polystyrene blocks. A metallographic optical microscope Nikon MA200 with a large depth of field was used for the examination which showed the presence of carbon deposit products. Additionally, a composition microanalysis was carried out along the line within selected areas of samples, with the use of energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). A large impact of wire surface defects on Si layer forming was found as well as a high direct homogeneous growth. The examination of the sections indicated the existence of a mechanism of defects sealed by Si layer, where directionality of grains growth in these areas revealed the tendency for vertical location relative to defects surface. Consequently, closed nanopores, i.e. spaces not covered with Si layer, were created. It is a characteristic feature of areas with defects covered with an oxide film created in a natural way.