Controlled preparation of grafted starch modified with Ni nanoparticles for biodegradable polymer nanocomposites and its application in food packaging

Abstract

Grafting of starch with methyl methacrylate was carried out using a free radical mechanism. Free radicals were generated by the thermal disintegration of potassium persulphate at the temperature of 60 C. A variety of experimental methods were investigated to check the effect of different parameters such as (temperature, amount of starch, quantity of monomer) for efficient grafting. The optimum temperature found for good grafting was 60 C. The initial amount of starch was taken as 0.75 g. Keeping the amount of starch constant, the quantity of monomer was reduced gradually from 10 to 2 ml in portions of 5 and 3 ml. The controlled biodegradability of the grafted product was obtained by using a 3 ml monomer in 0.75 g starch. This grafted polymer showed 31.45% biodegradability in 60 days. The nanocomposite of starch grafted methyl methacrylate was prepared by incorporating 0.02 g Ni nanoparticles in the reaction flask 15 min before the completion of reaction time. The starch grafted polymer and nanocomposite of this were fully characterized by SEM, FTIR, TGA, and DSC techniques. The soil burial method was applied to estimate the biodegradability of samples. The polymer containing Ni nanoparticles was less biodegradable than without nanoparticles. Such polymers can be efficiently used as packaging material for food items. Research Highlights1. Through a free radical method, methyl methacrylate was grafted onto the backbone of starch in this study.2. During the process, nickel nanoparticles were added to achieve the nickel nanocomposite of the starch grafted polymer.3. The breakdown of starch grafted polymer after 60 days in a soil burial experiment was 31.45%, whereas the degradation of nanocomposites was 20.07%. 4. Our synthesized nanocomposite polymers can be effectively employed as packaging material for food items.

Nanotechnology in Food and Plant Science: Challenges and Future Prospects

“…A nickel nanocomposite was developed using starch grafter polymers and nickel nanoparticles. After 60 days of soil burial, the breakdown of starch-grafted polymers was studied, and it was discovered that the degradation of the nanocomposite was 20.07% and that it can be effectively used as a packaging material for food items [132]. [133]…”

Study of the Sensitivity Limit of Detection of α-Particles by Polymer Film Detectors LR-115 Type 2 Using X-ray Diffraction and UV-Vis Spectroscopic Methods

“…Determination of the density of latent tracks, as well as changes in the properties of polymer films, is a very important condition in determining the potentials for using polymers not only as detecting systems, but also as various sensors, etc. [21,22].…”