Abstract
Poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (EVOH) films containing zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO Nrods) at 0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt%, were realized by solvent casting. The effect of ZnO Nrods content on morphological, thermal, optical, mechanical, and oxygen permeability properties were analyzed. In addition, moisture content and accelerated-aging test studies were performed, with the intention to determine the influence of zinc oxide nanofillers on the functional characteristics of realized packaging systems. Tensile properties showed increased values for strength and deformation-at-break in EVOH-based formulations reinforced with 0.1 and 0.5 wt% of zinc oxide nanorods. Results from the colorimetric and transparency investigations underlined that the presence of ZnO Nrods in EVOH copolymer did not induce evident alterations. In addition, after the accelerated-aging test, the colorimetric test confirmed the possibility for these materials to be used in the packaging sector. This behavior was induced by the presence of zinc oxide nanofillers that act as a UV block that made them useful as an efficient absorber of UV radiation.
Highlights
Over the previous two decades, polymer nanocomposite-based formulations, which are particle-filled polymeric systems with at least one dimension of the dispersed fillers in the nanometer range, have received a lot of interest from industrial and academic researchers
zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were synthesized by using zinc acetate and hexamethylenetetramine both 0.01 M, the materials were sonicated with high power horn-type ultrasound generator
EVOH and EVOH_Nrods-based films combined with zinc oxide nanorods (Nrods) at 0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt% (EVOH_0.1ZnO Nrods, EVOH_0.5ZnO Nrods and EVOH_1ZnO Nrods) were prepared by solvent casting, method reported in literature [32]
Summary
Over the previous two decades, polymer nanocomposite-based formulations, which are particle-filled polymeric systems with at least one dimension of the dispersed fillers in the nanometer range, have received a lot of interest from industrial and academic researchers. The main characteristics are thermal [1,2], heat resistance [3,4,5], electrical [6], mechanical [7], and barrier properties, for nanocomposites with low nanofiller content (approximately 3% and 5%) [8]. Among the polymers used in packaging, poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (EVOH) can be certainly considered as one of the most suitable polymeric matrixes to realize packages [11,12] The popularity of this polymer can be related to its specific characteristics.
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