Pectin/PVA and pectin-MgO/PVA films: Preparation, characterization and biodegradation studies

Suhasini M R; Rajeshwari K M; Bindya S; Hemavathi A B; Prashant M Vishwanath; Asad Syed; Rajalakshmanan Eswaramoorthy; Raghavendra G Amachawadi; Chandan Shivamallu; Vijay Kumar Chattu; Sanjay S Majani; Shiva Prasad Kollur

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15792

Pectin/PVA and pectin-MgO/PVA films: Preparation, characterization and biodegradation studies

Heliyon. 2023 Apr 26;9(5):e15792. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15792. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, JSS Science and Technology University, Mysuru - 570 006, Karnataka, India.
² Department of Polymer Science and Technology, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, JSS Science and Technology University, Mysuru - 570 006, Karnataka, India.
³ Centre for Excellence in Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, JSS Medical College, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore 570 015, Karnataka, India.
⁴ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Prosthodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Chennai - 600 077, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁶ Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506-5606, USA.
⁷ Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Myuru-570015, Karnataka, India.
⁸ Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁹ Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha 442107, India.
¹⁰ School of Physical Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Mysuru Campus, Mysuru - 570 026, Karnataka, India.

Abstract

There is a great demand to replace non-renewable materials with eco-friendly renewable materials for many applications in recent times. In the present study, such an attempt was made to substitute synthetic polymer-based films used for food packaging applications with films prepared out of renewable materials derived from waste. The pectin/polyvinyl alcohol (PP) and pectin-MgO/polyvinyl alcohol (PMP) films were prepared and characterized to ascertain their suitability for packaging applications. To improve the mechanical strength and thermal stability of films, MgO nanoparticles were incorporated in situ into the polymer matrix. The pectin used in the study was extracted from citrus fruit peel. The prepared nanocomposite films were evaluated for physico-mechanical properties, water contact angle, thermal stability, crystallinity, morphology, compositional purity and biodegradability. The elongation at break for PP film was 42.24% and for PMP film it was 39.18%. Also, the ultimate modulus in terms of MPa for PP film was 6.8 and for PMP it was 7.9. So, it was found that PMP films have better ductility and modulus than PP films due to the presence of MgO nanoparticles. The spectral studies confirmed the compositional purity of the prepared films. The biodegradation studies revealed that both films could be degraded at ambient conditions at appreciable time span, suggesting them to be a better choice as an environmentally friendly food packaging material.

Keywords: Biodegradation; Citrus fruit peel; Eco-friendly; Food packaging; Pectin-MgO/PVA.