Bio-coated filter paper: Enhanced antimicrobial & barrier with nanochitin/nanocellulose

Abstract

Pickering emulsions consisting of nanochitin/nanocellulose and cinnamon essential oil were synthesized and utilized as a water-based coating for filter paper, resulting in improved oxygen barrier and vapor barrier characteristics. The incorporation of cinnamon essential oil within Pickering emulsion facilitated a delayed release of the oil, thereby imparting antibacterial properties against E. coli on the coated filter paper. Moreover, the Pickering emulsion coating technique not only formed a uniform film that covered the fibers and pores of the filter paper, which enhanced the oxygen barrier properties (oxygen permeability reached 0.00285 ± 1.69967E-5 cm3/m2·d·Pa, 0.02937 ± 1.71335E-14 cm3/m2·d·Pa and 0.2283 ± 4.18994E-14 cm3/m2·d·Pa for DEChN, ChNC and CNC treated sample, respectively), but also reduced filter hydrophilicity performance (contact angles of DEChN, ChNC and CNC coated samples increased from 10.93 ± 0.89° to 81.10 ± 0.89°, 65.57 ± 1.09° and 58.93 ± 0.95°, respectively) and water vapor barrier performance (moisture permeability of DEChN, ChNC and CNC coated samples increased from 2530.9346 ± 20.3587 g/m2·day to 90.2211 ± 11.3913 g/m2·day, 153.547 ± 3.9448 g/m2·day and 350.5407 ± 0.24364 g/m2·day, respectively) of the filter paper. This work investigated the coating performance of nanochitin/nanocellulose based Pickering emulsion, and would provide a green route for preparing all biomass-base packing materials.