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Fabrication and characterization of antimicrobial starch‐based nanocomposite films and modeling the process parameters via the RSM
Author(s) -
Mohammadpour Velni Sanaz,
Baniasadi Hossein,
Vaziri Ali
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.24733
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , fabrication , composite material , compounding , ultimate tensile strength , food packaging , polymer , thermal stability , scanning electron microscope , chemical engineering , medicine , chemistry , alternative medicine , food science , pathology , engineering
The main aim of this study is the design and fabrication of degradable nanocomposite films composed of starch/gelatin (S/G)/SiO 2 suitable for food packaging applications. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to design the fabrication process and to investigate the effect of S/G weight ratio and SiO 2 weight percent (wt.%) on the mechanical and barrier properties of the prepared samples. The results revealed that tensile strength and modulus were increased with increasing S/G wt. ratio and introducing SiO 2 into the polymer matrix, while elongation at break and water vapor permeability (VWP) decreased. The process optimization was done and various properties of the optimized films such as morphological properties, thermal properties, VWP, degradability, and antibacterial properties were investigated. It was found that the thermal stability of the optimized sample as well as its barrier property against water vapor were improved dramatically as SiO 2 presented into the matrix due to proper dispersion and interaction of nanoparticles with the polymer matrix as also confirmed via scanning electron microscopy images. Furthermore, SiO 2 has brought significant antibacterial properties for the S/G matrix that is a notable feature for food packaging films. Overall, the results of the current study confirm the S/G/SiO 2 compounding could be proper candidate for fabrication of antibacterial degradable food packaging films. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E584–E591, 2018. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers