Active films based on PBAT incorporated with essential oils and nanosilica for packaging applications

Abstract

The main aim of the research work is to focus on the preparation and characterization of PBAT based films for active food packaging applications. The different natural essential oils like Neem (NEO), Clove (CEO), Grapeseed (GEO), Moringa (MEO), and Carvacrol (CAREO) were selected as natural antimicrobial agents and to blend with PBAT polymer along with lower (1wt%) and higher (3wt%) percentage of nanosilica. The active-based PBAT films were prepared by the solvent casting technique. The prepared films were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, XRD, TGA, mechanical, barrier, contact angle, surface color, opacity, and antimicrobial properties to find suitable applications in food packaging. The characteristics and properties of PBAT, PBAT/NEO, and PBAT/NEO/SiO2 film were studied. The uniform dispersion of neem oil and nanosilica in PBAT polymer at a lower percentage and the agglomeration at the higher loading of nanosilica were observed from SEM images. The constituents of the prepared films were noticed by the spectral values of FT-IR and the diffraction peaks of XRD. The incorporation of both neem oil and silica nanoparticles into PBAT polymer increases the thermal stability when compared to the pure PBAT polymer. The prepared films showed improvement in the tensile strength from 35 MPa to 60 MPa and a marginal decrease in percentage of elongation values compared to pure PBAT polymer. The barrier property of the prepared films indicated enhanced the barrier property against water vapor and oxygen molecules. The contact angle of the PBAT based film was increased after adding neem oil and nanosilica. There was a significant change in opacity and surface color (L*, a*, and b*) values that were observed in all the prepared films after adding neem oil and iv newline newlinenanosilica in the PBAT polymer. Besides, the antimicrobial activity of prepared films was evaluated against food pathogenic bacteria namely S. aureus and E. coli and the results showed excellent antimicrobial activity against both the microorganisms. newline newline