Tailor-made ultra-crystalline, high molecular weight poly(ε-caprolactone) films with improved oxygen gas barrier and optical properties: a facile and scalable approach

Comparative study on properties of starch films obtained from potato, corn and wheat using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate as plasticizer

“…The differences observed between the crystallinity of potato starch films versus corn and wheat starch films are probably due to the higher molecular weight of potato starch which leads to a lower crystallization ability of the polymer, because the rearrangement starch chains could be hindered by its size. A similar conclusion was reached by Chen et al [15] for poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and by Bhagabati et al [58] for poly(ε-caprolactone). In addition, there are more phosphate monoesters on potato starch than in the studied cereal starches (corn and wheat) as can be seen in Table 1.…”

“…According to Zhang et al [43], an abundant plasticization with [emim + ][Ac -] contributes to the disruption of the sophisticated structure of the starch grains, which could promote higher transparency of the final film. In addition, according to Bhagabati et al [58], more crystalline polymeric films, such as corn and wheat starch films, are optically less transparent due to the heterogeneous morphology. They claimed that the density difference in compactly packed crystalline region and loosely held amorphous region cause scattering of incident light in the visible range and lead to development of opacity.…”

Bamboo-flour-filled cost-effective poly(ε-caprolactone) biocomposites: a potential contender for flexible cryo-packaging applications

“…The spherulite type I structure of PCL has already been discussed in the POM study, in which each spherulite comprises a large number of crystalline lamellae of nanometre dimensions. 3 The localized orientation of the polymeric chains involves localized orientation of the spherulites towards the uniaxial tensile direction leading to its distortion and rupture, which is followed by orientation of the constituent lamellae into the fibrillar morphology. 20,24 Obviously, in this case a higher stress is required to cause further destruction of such aligned lamellar morphologies.…”

“…42,43 The XRD diffractogram of neat PCL is characterized by two broad peaks at 21.31-21.91 and 23.51 that correspond to the (110), (111) and (200) crystallographic planes, respectively. 3 Two peaks with less significance can also be observed at 15.61 and 29.71 that correspond to the (102) and (210) diffraction planes of PCL. 44 PCL is a semi-crystalline polymer and the peaks observed in the XRD patterns are located over a much wider and dispersed amorphous halo.…”

“…1,2 Although the mechanical properties of neat PCL resemble those of conventional packaging grade linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), certain physical properties, such as the surface hydrophobicity, glass transition temperature, gas barrier properties, and optical transparency should be taken into consideration when considering its application pertinence. 3 In spite of the characteristics of PCL that can make it a strong contender for commercial LLDPE in cryopackaging applications, few research articles are available that demonstrate its use in multiple commodity applications. [4][5][6] Dating back to 1994, Akahori and Osawa transformed cellulosic papers into PCL coated hydrophobic papers that were biodegradable under a natural environment.…”