The Improvement in Mechanical and Barrier Properties of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)/Graphene Oxide Packaging Films

Abstract

In this study, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-graphite oxide and PVA-graphene oxide (XGO) films were prepared by simple and environmentally friendly method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope revealed the strong hydrogen-bonding interactions between XGO and PVA matrix and the layered structure of tensile fracture surfaces of exfoliated PVA-XGO films. These resulted in a remarkable improvement on mechanical and barrier properties of XGO/PVA nanocomposite films. The addition of 0.3 and 2.0 wt.% XGO showed an increase in tensile strength (49%) and failure stain (13-22%), in comparison with the neat PVA films. The dramatic improvement of 144% in elastic modulus was observed in PVA/2.0 wt.% XGO. Both O 2 and water vapour permeability coefficients of PVA film decreased by about 76% and 21% at an XGO loading of 2.0 wt.%, respectively. Preliminary test was performed to determine the use of nanocomposite films to extend the shelf life of bananas. It was found that bananas packaged in nanocomposite films were ripened slower than those unpackaged or packaged in PVA films. These results demonstrate that such films could dramatically promote the application of PVAbased films in the packaging industry.

Suppressing Salt Transport through Composite Pervaporation Membranes for Brine Desalination

“…%). This observation confirmed the formation of hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl/carboxylate groups on GO and hydroxyl groups on PVA chains, which was consistent with those of other studies [14,45,46].…”

PVA, PVA Blends, and Their Nanocomposites for Biodegradable Packaging Application

“…As mentioned previously, tensile properties of pure PVA are generally a function of molecular weight and degree of hydrolysis ( Figure 5) [33,41] . Gaaz et al [41] reported that full-hydrolysis PVA possessed a tensile strength of 1.6 GPa, Young's modulus of 48 GPa and elongation at break of 6.5%; whereas Loryuenyong et al [59] found values of 25.4 MPa, 27.6 MPa and 260%, respectively, for partial-hydrolysis PVA. In addition, mechanical properties of PVA can be significantly changed when crosslinked with chemicals such as boric acid, citric acid and hexamethylene diisocyanate due to the change of PVA structure [43,60] .…”

Advancements in meat packaging

“…Some packaging composites that have been tested recently include poly(vinyl alcohol)-graphite oxide and poly(vinyl alcohol)-graphene oxide (Loryuenyong, Saewong, Aranchaiya, & Buasri, 2015).…”