Biodegradable composites from poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) with carbon nanoparticles: Preparation, characterization and performances

Raja Venkatesan; Sekar Surya; Sanjeevamuthu Suganthi; Muthumareeswaran Muthuramamoorthy; Saravanan Pandiaraj; Seong-Cheol Kim

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116634

Biodegradable composites from poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) with carbon nanoparticles: Preparation, characterization and performances

Environ Res. 2023 Oct 15:235:116634. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116634. Epub 2023 Jul 11.

Authors

Raja Venkatesan¹, Sekar Surya², Sanjeevamuthu Suganthi³, Muthumareeswaran Muthuramamoorthy⁴, Saravanan Pandiaraj⁵, Seong-Cheol Kim⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: rajavenki101@gmail.com.
² Department of Chemistry, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, Tamil Nadu, India.
³ Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Periyar University, Salem, 636011, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁴ King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Self-Development Skills, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: sckim07@ynu.ac.kr.

PMID: 37442258
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116634

Abstract

The development of composites for food packaging that have good mechanical and antimicrobial characteristics is still a major challenge. In applications like food packaging, the usage of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), which has an adversative effect on the environment and reduces petroleum resources, has grown widespread. The present work reveals PBAT composites reinforced with CNPs at a few percentages up to 5.0 wt %. The PBAT/CNPs composites were produced using the solvent casting method. The results of TGA studies, CNPs significantly enhanced the thermal stability of composites using PBAT. The mechanical strength of the PBAT composites was improved by increasing CNPs concentration. Tensile strength increased from 7.38 to 10.22 MPa, respectively. The oxygen transmission rate (OTR) decreased with increasing the CNPs concentrations. The barrier properties (H₂O and O₂) of PBAT were improved by the presence of CNPs. WVTR was calculated to be 108.6 ± 1.8 g/m²/day for PBAT. WVTR reduced when CNPs concentration in PBAT increased. The PCN-5.0 film sample had the lowest WVTR value, 34.1 ± 3.1 g/m²/day. For PCN-3.0, WVTR dropped by 45.39%, indicating and even with a 3.0 wt% loading of CNPs in PBAT, the rise is noticeable. Contact angle measurements indicate that PBAT/CNPs composites becomes hydrophobic after reinforcing. Gram-positive (S. aureus) and Gram-negative (E. coli) food-borne pathogenic microorganisms showed enhanced antimicrobial activity against the developed PBAT composites. The carrot pieces preserved their freshness for an extended period of 12 days while packaged in the PBAT/CNPs composite film, indicating that the film is an effective and excellent packaging for food materials.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Carbon nanoparticles (CNPs); Composites; Food packaging; Mechanical strength; Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adipates / chemistry
Carbon
Escherichia coli
Nanoparticles*
Polyesters* / chemistry
Staphylococcus aureus

Substances

Polyesters
butylene
terephthalic acid
Adipates
Carbon