Cellulose Nanocrystal Reinforced Chitosan Based UV Barrier Composite Films for Sustainable Packaging

Mithilesh Yadav; Kartik Behera; Yen-Hsiang Chang; Fang-Chyou Chiu

doi:10.3390/polym12010202

Cellulose Nanocrystal Reinforced Chitosan Based UV Barrier Composite Films for Sustainable Packaging

Polymers (Basel). 2020 Jan 13;12(1):202. doi: 10.3390/polym12010202.

Authors

Mithilesh Yadav^{1

2}, Kartik Behera¹, Yen-Hsiang Chang^{3

4}, Fang-Chyou Chiu^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
² Department of Chemistry, Prof. Rajendra Singh Institute of Physical Sciences for Study and Research, V.B.S Purvanchal University Jaunpur, Siddikpur U.P. 222002, India.
³ Department of General Dentistry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
⁴ Graduate Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.

Abstract

In this study, green composite films based on cellulose nanocrystal/chitosan (CNC/CS) were fabricated by solution casting. FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM characterizations were conducted to determine the structure and morphology of the prepared films. The addition of only 4 wt.% CNC in the CS film improved the tensile strength and Young's modulus by up to 39% and 78%, respectively. Depending on CNC content, the moisture absorption decreased by 34.1-24.2% and the water solubility decreased by 35.7-26.5% for the composite films compared with neat CS film. The water vapor permeation decreased from 3.83 × 10^-11 to 2.41 × 10^-11 gm^-1 s^-1Pa^-1 in the CS-based films loaded with (0-8 wt.%) CNC. The water and UV barrier properties of the composite films showed better performance than those of neat CS film. Results suggested that CNC/CS nanocomposite films can be used as a sustainable packaging material in the food industry.

Keywords: UV barrier; cellulose nanocrystal; chitosan; mechanical properties; nanocomposite.