Preparation of Citric Acid Fermentation Waste-Based Mulch Films with Hydrophobic Surface by Poly(styrene-co-acrylate) Coatings

Abstract

To improve the surface hydrophobicity of citric acid fermentation waste (CAFW)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) mulch films for their application in various environments, poly(styrene-co-acrylate) (PSA) is used as the single or double sides coatings of CAFW/PVA mulch films. The structure and properties of the obtained CAFW-based mulch films with PSA coatings are investigated. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveals that hydrogen bondings are formed between O–H bonds of the CAFW-based mulch film and C═O bonds of PSA coatings, which accounts for good interface adhesion between PSA coatings and CAFW-based mulch films. In addition, after PSA coatings, the elongation at break of the obtained films is obviously increased, whereas the tensile strength remains nearly unchanged, meanwhile the thermal property of CAFW-based mulch film is slightly improved. Importantly, the water contact angle of CAFW-based mulch films increases dramatically from 37 to 97° and the surface hydrophobicity ...