Most traditional food packaging and preservation films suffer from limited stretchability and relatively simple functionality, which severely restricts their practical application. In this study, a highly stretchable and versatile sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/poly(ethylene imine) (PEI)/tannic acid (TA) hydrogel film was elaborately designed and demonstrated as an efficient food packaging and preservation system. The dynamic reversible non-covalent within three-dimensional (3D) network structures served as sacrificial bonds to dissipate the loaded energy and endowed the hydrogel film with excellent elongation ~400 %, which is much larger than that of conventional food packaging films (<50 %). Furthermore, the optimized CMC/PVA/PEI/TA3 hydrogel film delivers versatile performances, including self-healing, whole UV-blocking (<400 nm), strong adhesive strength (234.08 KPa), antioxidation virtues, oxygen barrier (32.64 cm3*μm/(m2*d*KPa)) and water vapor barrier (642.92 g/(m2*24 h)). Notably, the shelf life of fresh strawberries, mangoes, and cherries was prolonged by at least one week under ambient conditions when the packaging box was covered by the fabricated CMC/PVA/PEI/TA3 film. Thus, our work not only provides a highly stretchable and versatile hydrogel film but also boosts the in-depth comprehension and rational design of robust food packaging and preservation films.
Keywords: Dynamic reversible non-covalent bonds; Food packaging and preservation; Highly stretchable hydrogel film; Intermolecular interaction.
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