Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/Polylactic Acid/Tetrapod-Zinc Oxide Whisker Composite Films with Antibacterial Properties

Zhibo Zhao; Rajkamal Balu; Sheeana Gangadoo; Naba Kumar Duta; Namita Roy Choudhury

doi:10.3390/polym16081039

Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/Polylactic Acid/Tetrapod-Zinc Oxide Whisker Composite Films with Antibacterial Properties

Polymers (Basel). 2024 Apr 10;16(8):1039. doi: 10.3390/polym16081039.

Authors

Zhibo Zhao¹, Rajkamal Balu^{1

2}, Sheeana Gangadoo¹, Naba Kumar Duta¹, Namita Roy Choudhury^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Chemical and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
² ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Waste into Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy (TREMS), RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.

Abstract

Biodegradable composite films comprising of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), polylactic acid (PLA), and tetrapod-zinc oxide (T-ZnO) whisker were prepared by a melt-extrusion and blow molding process. The effect of the incorporation of the T-ZnO whisker (1 to 7 wt.%) in the PBAT/PLA blend film was studied systematically. The composite films with an optimal T-ZnO whisker concentration of 3 wt.% exhibited the highest mechanical (tensile strength ~32 MPa), rheological (complex viscosity~1200 Pa.s at 1 rad/s angular frequency), and gas barrier (oxygen permeability~20 cc/m²·day) properties, whereas the composite films with 7 wt.% T-ZnO whiskers exhibited the highest antibacterial properties. The developed composite films can find potential application as antibacterial food packaging materials.

Keywords: antibacterial; blow molding; composite film; melt-extrusion; packaging material; poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate); polylactic acid; tetrapod-zinc oxide.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.