Abstract
In order to ease the white pollution problem, biodegradable packaging materials are highly demanded. In this work, the biodegradable poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/MXene (PBAT/Ti3C2TX) composite casting films were fabricated by melt mixing. Then, the obtained PBAT/Ti3C2TX composite casting films were biaxially stretched at different stretching ratios so as to reduce the water vapor permeability rate (WVPR) and oxygen transmission rate (OTR). It was expected that the combination of Ti3C2TX nanosheets and biaxial stretching could improve the water vapor and oxygen barrier performance of PBAT films. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation showed that the Ti3C2TX nanosheets had good compatibility with the PBAT matrix. The presence of Ti3C2TX acted as a nucleating agent to promote the crystallinity when the content was lower than 2 wt%. The mechanical tests showed that the incorporation of 1.0 wt% Ti3C2TX improved the tensile stress, elongation at break, and Young’s modulus of the PBAT/Ti3C2TX nanocomposite simultaneously, as compared with those of pure PBAT. The mechanical dynamical tests showed that the presence of Ti3C2TX significantly improved the storage modulus of the PBAT nanocomposite in a glassy state. Compared with pure PBAT, PBAT-1.0 with 1.0 wt% Ti3C2TX exhibited the lowest OTR of 782 cc/m2·day and 10.2 g/m2·day. The enhancement in gas barrier properties can be attributed to the presence of Ti3C2TX nanosheets, which can increase the effective diffusion path length for gases. With the biaxial stretching, the OTR and WVPR of PBAT-1.0 were further reduced to 732 cc/m2·day and 6.5 g/m2·day, respectively. The PBAT composite films with enhanced water vapor and water barrier performance exhibit a potential application in green packaging.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralGreen packaging materials are highly demanded in the recent years because of the everincreasing plastic pollution problem
It was reported that the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) under ambient conditions was around 1050 cc/m2 ·day, whereas the water vapor permeability rate (WVPR) was 3.3 × 10−11 g·m/m2 ·s·Pa, which made it difficult to meet the requirements for packaging applications [6–8]
It can be seen that an agglomeration phenomenon existed on the surface of PBAT-2.0 (Figure 1g,h)
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralGreen packaging materials are highly demanded in the recent years because of the everincreasing plastic pollution problem. The traditional packaging materials, such as polyethylene (PE) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), have been gradually replaced by biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) [1–4]. Compared with other biodegradable polyesters, PBAT has adjustable properties due to the copolymerization of 1,4-butanediol, adipic acid, and terephthalic acid [5]. It has good ductility, good thermal resistance, and high impact performance, which is similar to PE. The poor oxygen and water vapor barrier performances limit the broad applications of PBAT in packaging. It is necessary to improve the oxygen and water vapor barrier performance of PBAT so as to prolong the shelf life and maintain good quality of food
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