Open Access

ARTICLE

Bio-Nanocomposites Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol and Fuller Earth Nanoclay: Preparation, Properties and Its Application in Food Packaging

by Yvonne Achieng Ouma¹, Supriti Sundari Nayak¹, Smrutirekha Mishra², Harekrishna Panigrahi^1,*

1 School of Chemical Engineering, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Deemed to be University Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India
2 Department of Materials and Polymer Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai-Indian Oil Campus (IOC), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751013, India

* Corresponding Authors: Harekrishna Panigrahi. Email: ,

Journal of Polymer Materials 2024, 41(4), 281-297. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpm.2024.056470

Received 23 July 2024; Accepted 19 September 2024; Issue published 16 December 2024

Abstract

Fuller earth (FE) nanoclay is a naturally occurring mineral with a high surface area, is highly abundant, and has a low purchasing cost, making it an excellent candidate for nanocomposite production. The study highlights the novelty of using FE nanoclay in combination with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to create a bio-nanocomposite that meets the need for sustainable packaging solutions, underscoring its potential to reduce environmental impact while maintaining product quality in food packaging applications. The solvent casting process, a reliable way to evenly disperse nanofillers in polymer matrices, has been employed in this work to incorporate FE into the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix to develop PVA/FE bio-nanocomposites. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study reveals that the FE nanoclay particles are uniformly dispersed throughout the PVA matrix. The incorporation of 4 wt% of FE into the PVA matrix increases the tensile strength and elongation at break values by 45% and 147%, respectively, which is due to the hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups of PVA and the oxygen atoms present in the FE nanoclay. Incorporation of FE into the PVA matrix has improved the thermal behaviour of the bio-nanocomposites, which is due to the better interfacial interaction between FE and PVA that hinders the early degradation process. The biodegradation study has proved that the bio-nanocomposite film is environmentally friendly, and the coating study results on tomatoes are remarkable, which could be a promising indication of usage in biodegradable packaging and other environmental applications.

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