Facile synthesis of high strength hot-water wood extract films with oxygen-barrier performance

Abstract

Biobased nanocomposite films for food packaging with high mechanical strength and good oxygenbarrier performance were developed using a hot-water wood extract (HWE). In this work, a facile approach to produce HWE/montmorillonite (MMT) based nanocomposite films with excellent physical properties is described. The focus of this study was to determine the effects of the MMT content on the structure and mechanical properties of nanocomposites and the effects of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the physical properties of the HWE-MMT films. The experimental results suggested that the intercalation of HWE and CMC in montmorillonite could produce compact, robust films with a nacre-like structure and multifunctional characteristics. This results of this study showed that the mechanical properties of the film designated F CMC0.05 (91.5 MPa) were dramatically enhanced because the proportion of HWE, MMT and CMC was 1:1.5:0.05. In addition, the optimized films exhibited an oxygen permeability below 2.0 cm 3 μm/day·m 2 ·kPa, as well as good thermal stability due to the small amount of CMC. These results provide a comprehensive understanding for further development of highperformance nanocomposites which are based on natural polymers (HWE) and assembled layered clays (MMT). These films offer great potential in the field of sustainable packaging.Natureal load-bearing materials, such as seashell nacre, are well known for their extraordinary mechanical properties that result from their highly ordered brick-mortar architecture. Nacre has inspired the fabrication of synthetic layered nanocomposite materials 1-3 . The introduction of clay into a polymer matrix can considerably enhance the thermal and mechanical properties of the polymer film and reduce oxygen permeability 4,5 . Therefore, a potential route for improving the oxygen barrier and mechanical properties of polymer films is the addition of layered clays such as montmorillonite (MMT) to form polymer/clay nanocomposites. In recent years, special attention has been given to the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites that are based on natural polymers and assembling layered clays 6 . Increased attention is being paid to renewable resources, hence the feature of hemicelluloses including their abundance, biodegradability and biocompatibility have made them attractive 7,8 . However, using hemicelluloses to produce materials on an industrial scale is hampered by the high production costs associated with obtaining these materials with a high degree of purity 9 . It is well known that a major fraction of wood is present in the form of hemicelluloses and lignin which are present in the waste pulping liquor and must be removed during pulping to yield undegraded cellulose fibers 10 . Thus, extracting the valuable noncellulosic components from wood chips prior to pulping and converting them into biofuels or the value-added materials is financially beneficial to the pulping industry. The purpose of the proposed hot-water extraction (autohydrolysis processing, which could lead t...

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