Premium
Sweet Potato Starch‐Based Nanocomposites: Development, Characterization, and Biodegradability
Author(s) -
Issa Aseel T.,
Schimmel Keith A.,
Worku Mulumebet,
Shahbazi Abolghasem,
Ibrahim Salam A.,
Tahergorabi Reza
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
starch ‐ stärke
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1521-379X
pISSN - 0038-9056
DOI - 10.1002/star.201700273
Subject(s) - nanocomposite , materials science , montmorillonite , starch , exfoliation joint , elongation , ultimate tensile strength , biodegradation , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , food packaging , composite material , degradation (telecommunications) , chemical engineering , food science , chemistry , graphene , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , telecommunications , computer science , engineering
The primary objective of this study is to develop and characterize a novel active biodegradable nanocomposite film using sweet potato starch (SPS) for food packaging. Montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay at a constant weight of 3% and thyme essential oil (TEO) at three levels (2%, 4%, and 6% v/v) are incorporated into SPS film. The results show that incorporating MMT and TEO into SPS film greatly enhanced ( P < 0.05) water resistance by 50%. MMT incorporation also hinders the degradation rate of the film. Furthermore, the combined effect of MMT and TEO (up to 4%) improve tensile strength, elongation, and tristimulus color values ( P < 0.05). Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results confirm that the noted improvements are related to MMT exfoliation and good interaction between SPS and MMT in the presence of TEO. These results suggest that SPS may provide a viable solution to the waste disposal of plastic packaging materials used for food products.