a.a. entezami

The present study used a constant level of citric acid and polyvinyl alcohol and different amounts of nanocrystalline cellulose (CNC) and TiO2 nanoparticles to improve the properties of starch film. The effect of different amounts of glycerol was also examined. The results of differential scanning colorimetry demonstrated that the addition of CNC increased the melting and glass transition temperatures and the addition of high levels of TiO2 decreased the melting temperature and increased the glass transition temperature. The effects of these three compounds on the hydrophobicity and color of bionanocomposite plasticized starch were studied and their optimum values determined using a central composite design in response surface methodology. Water uptake data showed that the quadratic effect of TiO2 concentration and the linear and quadratic effects of CNC and GLY concentrations were significant. The optimum levels for TiO2, CNC and GLY for minimum water uptake were 0.118, 0.3 g and 1.36 ml, respectively. Quadratic CNC concentrations and linear glycerol concentrations were significant for water solubility. The optimum levels of TiO2, CNC and GLY for minimum water solubility were 0.235, 0.30 g and 1.36 ml, respectively. The CNC concentration had linear and quadratic effects on the yellowness index (YI) of the bionanocomposite. There was a significant interaction between TiO2 and GLY. The optimum levels of TiO2, CNC and GLY for minimum YI were as 0.235, 0 g and 1.06 ml, respectively.

The starch based films have some disadvantages such as weak mechanical and poor water barrier properties that restrict their applications in food packaging. In the present research, the polyvinyl alcohol (POVH), as a compatible polymer, and montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay, as a nanofiller, were added to plasticized starch film (PS) to improve its properties and also to produce PS-MMT-PVOH nanocomposits with different MMT content (3,5,7%). The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) villustrated that the nanostructure of investigated starch based nanocomposites films has an exfoliated structure which can be attributed to the good dispersing of filler in polymer matrix. DSC results showed that with adding MMT and increasing its content from 0 to 7%, melting point and Tg increased from 242ᵒC to 262ᵒC and 148ᵒC to 188ᵒC. The results of tensile test showed that addition of PVOH and MMT increased the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and decreased the water vapor permeability (WVP) of nanocomposite films.

Starch-based biopolymer films have disadvantages such as poor mechanical and barrier properties against water vapour that restrict their application in packaging. To improve the properties of starch-based films, different methods such as blending with other polymers and adding nanofillers have been suggested. Cellulose nanocrystals (NCC) are a suitable candidate for reinforcing starch biopolymers due to their biodegradability, nontoxicity, abundance in nature, low price, and renewability. The objectives of the current research were to investigate the effects of NCC and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) on the properties of starch-based films to improve their mechanical and barrier properties.

NCC was produced from cotton linter and added to the starch-PVA film-forming blend. Tests used to determine the properties of the films thus produced included mechanical, water- vapour permeability, thermal property, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmittance electron microscopy (TEM) tests.

Addition of PVA and NCC to film-forming solutions caused an increase in the maximum tensile stress (UTS) and a decrease in water-vapour permeability and solubility of the nanobiocomposit films. In addition, the XRD test showed that the 2 components − polymer matrix and nanofiller – were well dispersed in the blend. The optimum structure was observed at a concentration of 10% NCC.

Polyvinyl alcohol has OH groups and, hence, it can form hydrogen bonds with the starch OH groups, resulting in enhanced mechanical strength of polymer and improved mechanical and barrier properties of the biocomposite produced. Due to their high crystalline structure (as a result, high rigidity and elastic modulus) and their ability to form strong hydrogen bonds with starch and PVA, cellulose nanocrystals can potentially improve the mechanical and barrier properties of starch-based bionanicomposite films. The starch-based nanocomposites showed the highest UTS at a concentration of 10% NCC. At higher concentrations the UTS decreased, which could be attributed to aggregation of NCC in the polymer matrix. Aggregation of NCC at a level of 15% or 20% was observed as shown by XRD pattern peaks.