An Active Bio-Based Food Packaging Material of ZnO@Plant Polyphenols/Cellulose/Polyvinyl Alcohol: DESIGN, Characterization and Application

Abstract

Active packaging materials protect food from deterioration and extend its shelf life. In the quest to design intriguing packaging materials, biocomposite ZnO/plant polyphenols/cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol (ZnPCP) was prepared via simple hydrothermal and casting methods. The structure and morphology of the composite were fully analyzed using XRD, FTIR, SEM and XPS. The ZnO particles, plant polyphenols (PPL) and cellulose were found to be dispersed in PVA. All of these components share their unique functions with the composite’s properties. This study shows that PPL in the composite not only improves the ZnO dispersivity in PVA as a crosslinker, but also enhances the water barrier of PVA. The ZnO, PPL and cellulose work together, enabling the biocomposite to perform as a good food packaging material with only a 1% dosage of the three components in PVA. The light shielding investigation showed that ZnPCP−10 can block almost 100% of both UV and visible light. The antibacterial activities were evaluated by Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), with 4.4 and 6.3 mm inhibition zones, respectively, being achieved by ZnPCP−10. The enhanced performance and easy degradation enables the biocomposite ZnPCP to be a prospect material in the packaging industry.

Characterization of Sustainable Bio-Based Materials for Food Packaging Applications

“…The determination of material density is conducted by established techniques, such as the use of Archimedes' principle. Porosity, which refers to the extent of empty space within a given material, may be assessed by employing image analysis methodologies on microscopic or scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures [31]. The evaluation of the colour and appearance of materials may be conducted through the utilisation of colorimeters or spectrophotometers.…”

Development of Versatile, thermally stable, flexible, UV-resistant and antibacterial polyvinyl alcohol-Nanodiamonds composite for efficient food packaging

“…Recent research has confirmed the presence of microplastic (∼240,000 particles per litre) in water bottles [ 9 ]. The demand to replace synthetic plastic with innovative biodegradable polymers that have large mechanical strength, thermally stable, reasonable optical transparency, UV resistant, antibacterial and antioxidant packaging materials is increasing [ 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 , 10 ].…”

“…For over a century, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been known as one of the most highly produced synthetic biodegradable polymers [ 11 ]. The exceptional properties of PVA include non-toxicity, high transparency, flexibility, biocompatibility, and chemical resistance [ 10 , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] ]. As a packaging material, PVA appears suitable for resolving environmental pollution problems and decreasing ecological waste.…”

“…As a packaging material, PVA has poor UV resistance [ 13 , 33 ]. Different fillers such as Zinc oxide (ZnO)/plant polyphenols/cellulose [ 10 ], Tannic acid [ 12 ], TiO 2 , waste hump [ 31 ], citrate-based fluorophores [ 33 ], polyethyleneimine (PEI)- lignin contained cellulose nanofibers [ 18 ] were introduced to enhance UV barrier of PVA. Since NDs are effective antioxidants and photostable UV filters, they can be introduced with TiO 2 and ZnO in sunscreen.…”