Manganese dioxide having nanorod and nanoflake morphologies have been successfully prepared by electrolysis of KMnO 4 at a temperature of 60°C. The acidity of the solution substantially influenced the particle morphology. The particles had nanorod morphology at a very acid solution (pH 0.2) whereas they had nanoflake shape at the base condition (pH 9). X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the particles generated at very acid condition were ¡-MnO 2 . On the other hand, the particles synthesized at base condition were amorphous MnO 2 . The electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of the materials was studied in oxygensaturated 0.6 M KOH solution. The electrons transferred per oxygen molecules of ORR for nanorod and nanoflake MnO 2 particles were 2.23 and 1.75, respectively. The results suggest that nanorod MnO 2 particles exhibit better ORR activity corresponding to 2-electron transferred ORR mechanism.

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This paper reports the incorporation of cassava starch (CS) at various concentrations into a previously developed ZnO/SiO2-semi-refined kappa carrageenan-based film (SRκC) bionanocomposite and evaluates its performance as minced chicken edible packaging. The incorporation of CS into SRκC-based films aims to provide multifunctional food packaging with enhanced surface morphology, thickness, mechanical properties, and transparency. The effect of the incorporation of various mixing ratios of CS and SRκC (CS:SRκC ratios of 1:3, 1:1, and 3:1) was investigated. The results show that the surface morphology, thickness, and mechanical properties of the SRκC-based films are increased by incorporating CS. Interestingly, a significant shelf-life improvement of up to 6 days is obtained for the application of the CS:SRκC 1:3 film as minced chicken packaging. It is concluded that the incorporation of CS into SRκC-based film is promising for extending the shelf life of minced chicken samples.

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