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Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications
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Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Coatings for Food Technology and System".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 52744

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Monica Bollani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
Interests: sensing; nano and microfabrication; photonic

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent theoretical and experimental developments in multifunctional coatings as single or multilayers covering plastic, metallic, and semiconductor substrates are among the most highly-exploited research systems in the sensing, engineering, and food industries. Spurred primarily by durability in demanding environmental conditions, which is required in applications ranging from the chemical and biochemical industries to food supply chain technologies, a synergic use of novel materials, spectroscopic and chemical characterizations, cloud-based data management, and advanced integration nanofabrication techniques can be used to study novel coating directly integrated at the production lines in the food industry.

Driven by the current state of knowledge of humidity and food deterioration prevention mechanisms, the need to maintain both physical and chemical properties as structural material integrity and reliability assets under harsh environments, as well as a renewed impetus towards durability of new nanostructured coating systems, have seen a huge demand in experimental, theoretical, and modeling activities. Multifunctional coating exploits novel technologies focusing on biocompatibility, green, nontoxic, and environmentally-friendly approaches to reach the final goal of serving agrifood industrial needs.

This Special Issue will serve as a forum for papers in the following concepts:

  • Theoretical and experimental research, knowledge, and new ideas to improve the performance of existing packaging products, both compostable (cellulose and PLA) and recyclable (polyethylene, polypropylene and polyester) in terms of gas and aroma barrier effect;
  • Recent developments in multifunctional organic, inorganic, hybrid coatings;
  • Coatings produced by different processes, including but not limited to additive manufacturing processes, thermal spray, laser and plasma processing, CVD, and plating;
  • Experimental and processing high-performance coatings with exposure to high temperatures, high stress, and other extreme environment applications;
  • Understanding the degradation mechanisms of coatings through friction, wear or humidity;
  • The latest development of test methods considering the interplay between mechanical, chemical, and physical interactions and the ability to predict performance and/or reliability. Emphasis on valid, accelerated performance tests and the relation between test techniques and field performance data;
  • Computer modeling, simulation to predict coating properties, performance, durability, and reliability in service environments.

Dr. Monica Bollani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • spray-coating
  • roll-coating
  • thin films
  • cellulose
  • packaging

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 3556 KiB  
Communication
Spectral Imaging of UV-Blocking Carbon Dot-Based Coatings for Food Packaging Applications
by Benedetto Ardini, Cristian Manzoni, Benedetta Squeo, Francesca Villafiorita-Monteleone, Paolo Grassi, Mariacecilia Pasini, Monica Bollani and Tersilla Virgili
Coatings 2023, 13(4), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13040785 - 18 Apr 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2857
Abstract
Nowadays, there is an increased demand to develop alternative non-plastic packaging to be used in the food industry. The most popular biodegradable films are cellulose and poly(lactic acid) (PLA); however, there is still the need to increase their UV absorption to protect the [...] Read more.
Nowadays, there is an increased demand to develop alternative non-plastic packaging to be used in the food industry. The most popular biodegradable films are cellulose and poly(lactic acid) (PLA); however, there is still the need to increase their UV absorption to protect the packaging content. In this work, we have covered those biodegradable films with thin coatings based on carbon dots (CDs) dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) deposited by spin- or spray-coating techniques. We report a strong increase in the UV light-absorbing properties, together with a detailed morphological characterization; moreover, we show the results of a new microscopy and spectral imaging technique applied to the coated samples. The scientific and technological novelty of this approach is the possibility of characterizing large areas of the material surface by the simultaneous detection of PL spectra in all the pixels of a highly spatially-resolved two-dimensional (2D) map of the surface. We report UV-excited PL maps whose detailed information allows us to clearly identify regions with different spectral behaviors and to compare their characteristic signals for different CDs:PVA deposition techniques. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications)
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9 pages, 2096 KiB  
Article
Natural Dyes Used as Organic Coatings UV Protecting for Food Packages
by Tersilla Virgili, Mariacecilia Pasini, Michele Guizzardi, Negar Tizro and Monica Bollani
Coatings 2022, 12(3), 417; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12030417 - 21 Mar 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3372
Abstract
Nowadays, the use of biodegradable and bio-derived plastics such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and cellulose in food packaging applications are replacing the use of different and more conventional oil-derived polymers that are much more expensive and unsuitable for the environment. However, their high [...] Read more.
Nowadays, the use of biodegradable and bio-derived plastics such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and cellulose in food packaging applications are replacing the use of different and more conventional oil-derived polymers that are much more expensive and unsuitable for the environment. However, their high transparency to ultraviolet (UV) radiation limits their current commercialization. Therefore, this study focuses on the deposition of organic thin films on commercial PLA and cellulose in order to enhance their performance, in particular for UV shielding. Coatings with different natural and biocompatible (edible) molecules, quinine and p-Coumaric acid, dispersed in different matrices are deposited by comparing different deposition techniques such as spray coating and spin coating. Morphological characterizations are carried out with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with spectroscopic characterizations performed by light transmission measurements. Our results show that it is possible to enhance the UV protection of packaging using a suitable deposition with these biocompatible materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications)
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13 pages, 2320 KiB  
Article
Effect of Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment on the Surface Wettability of Poly(butylene succinate) Films
by Espedito Vassallo, Marco Aloisio, Matteo Pedroni, Francesco Ghezzi, Pierfrancesco Cerruti and Riccardo Donnini
Coatings 2022, 12(2), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12020220 - 8 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2580
Abstract
Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) films were processed by a radio frequency (RF; 13.56 MHz) low-pressure plasma of oxygen and argon/oxygen, and an oxygen plasma with an argon post-crosslinking plasma to improve their wettability property. Specimens were treated at different times with fixed power processing [...] Read more.
Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) films were processed by a radio frequency (RF; 13.56 MHz) low-pressure plasma of oxygen and argon/oxygen, and an oxygen plasma with an argon post-crosslinking plasma to improve their wettability property. Specimens were treated at different times with fixed power processing of 100 W (0.3 W/cm2) and a fixed pressure of 10 Pa. A significant change in hydrophilicity evaluated by the water contact angle was observed. The contact angle of a water drop decreased from 80° for the untreated sample to values lower than 5° for plasma-treated samples. The effect of ageing on the wettability of PBS substrates was also examined, showing a more pronounced trend in the first 4 h and reaching a plateau in the following days. However, partial surface hydrophilicity was maintained for up to 15 days. A practical application of the surface functionalization produced by plasma was obtained via the deposition of SiOx onto PBS surfaces; the study of films’ oxygen permeability demonstrated that the plasma pre-treatment increased the adhesion between PBS and SiOx, resulting in significantly improved oxygen barrier properties. In order to evaluate the morphology and roughness modification caused by plasma exposure, atomic force microscopy characterization was carried out. Chemical information about treated surfaces, such as an increase in oxygen functional groups during plasma exposure, was measured by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Finally, the effects of plasma on crystallinity were investigated by X-ray diffraction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications)
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17 pages, 3591 KiB  
Article
Study of the Degradation of Biobased Plastic after Stress Tests in Water
by Gina Ambrosio, Guido Faglia, Stefano Tagliabue and Camilla Baratto
Coatings 2021, 11(11), 1330; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11111330 - 29 Oct 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3095
Abstract
Research on compostable bioplastics has recently obtained performances comparable to traditional plastics, like water vapor permeability, sealability, and UV transmission. Therefore, it is crucial to create new tools that help the developers of new polymeric composites study them quickly and cost-effectively. In this [...] Read more.
Research on compostable bioplastics has recently obtained performances comparable to traditional plastics, like water vapor permeability, sealability, and UV transmission. Therefore, it is crucial to create new tools that help the developers of new polymeric composites study them quickly and cost-effectively. In this work, Raman spectroscopy (RS) was proposed as a versatile tool to investigate the degradation of biobased plastics after a stress test in water: this approach is a novelty for food packaging. Treatments at room temperature (RT) and 80 °C were selected, considering that these biopolymers can be used to packaging ready meals. The investigation was carried out on single-layer sheets of poly-lactic acid (PLA), cellulose ester (CE), poly-butylene succinate (PBS), poly-butylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT), and a new composite material obtained by coupling CE and PBS (BB951) and PLA and CE (BB961). The vibrational modes of the water-treated materials at RT and 80 °C were compared to the Raman spectra of the pristine bioplastic, and the morphologies of the polymers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. Composite sheets were the plastics which were mostly affected by the 80 °C treatment in water, through changes in morphology (wrinkling with alternate white and transparent zones), as was especially the case for BB951. The Raman spectra acquired in different zones showed that the vibrations of BB951 were generally maintained in transparent zones but reduced or lacking in white zones. At the same time, the single-layer materials were almost unchanged. For BB961, the Raman vibrations were only slightly modified, in agreement with the visual inspection. The results suggest that RS detects the specific chemical bond that was modified, helping us understand the degradation process of biobased plastics after water treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications)
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10 pages, 4119 KiB  
Article
Plasma Sputtered Tungsten Oxide Thin Film on Poly(lactic acid) for Food Packaging Applications
by Matteo Pedroni, Espedito Vassallo, Marco Aloisio, Milena Brasca, Hao Chen, Giuseppe Firpo, Francesco Ghezzi, Stefano Morandi, Silvia Maria Pietralunga, Tiziana Silvetti and Tersilla Virgili
Coatings 2021, 11(11), 1281; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11111281 - 21 Oct 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3296
Abstract
Biodegradable and bio-derived plastics such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) are a promising solution to solve the huge environmental and economic issues caused by the enormous consumption of conventional oil-derived polymers, especially in food packaging applications. However, their poor gas barrier properties and high [...] Read more.
Biodegradable and bio-derived plastics such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) are a promising solution to solve the huge environmental and economic issues caused by the enormous consumption of conventional oil-derived polymers, especially in food packaging applications. However, their poor gas barrier properties and high transparency to UV radiation limit their currently commercialization. Therefore, this study is focused on the deposition of tungsten oxide (WOx) thin films on commercial PLA in order to enhance its overall performance. Coatings with different thickness (25, 50 and 100 nm) were deposited by means of radiofrequency (RF) plasma magnetron reactive sputtering. Morphological characterization was carried out with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In order to evaluate surface chemical changes due to plasma treatments, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis were performed. The PLA/WOx samples demonstrated remarkable improvements both in UV protection and oxygen barrier properties. In particular, light transmittance was reduced by approximately 95% in the UV-B region, 70% in the UV-A region and 50% in the visible region compared to pristine PLA. Regarding oxygen permeation, a reduction of at least 99.9% was achieved. In addition, the PLA/WOx antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli were also investigated, showing a reduction greater than 5 log10 CFU cm−2 after 24 h for the 50 and 100 nm samples. These results demonstrate the potential of WOx thin coating for sustainable food packaging applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications)
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16 pages, 2076 KiB  
Article
Structural and Functional Properties of Fluorinated Silica Hybrid Barrier Layers on Flexible Polymeric Foil
by Kamila Startek, Anna Szczurek, Thi Ngoc Lam Tran, Justyna Krzak, Alicja Bachmatiuk and Anna Lukowiak
Coatings 2021, 11(5), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11050573 - 14 May 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2953
Abstract
The reported work was focused on sol–gel-derived organically modified and fluorinated silica coatings deposited on elastic polymeric foil. The structure and topography of the coatings were tested by infrared spectroscopy and microscopic studies. The functional properties were determined using thermal analysis, surface analysis, [...] Read more.
The reported work was focused on sol–gel-derived organically modified and fluorinated silica coatings deposited on elastic polymeric foil. The structure and topography of the coatings were tested by infrared spectroscopy and microscopic studies. The functional properties were determined using thermal analysis, surface analysis, and oxygen permeability tests. The barrier feature of the investigated materials against oxygen was correlated with the properties of the coatings. The hybrid (organic–inorganic) structure of the coatings was proven, demonstrating the presence of a silica network modified with alkyl and fluoroalkyl groups since precursors with the isooctyl group or different lengths of the fluoroalkyl chains were used for the syntheses. The coatings were free of defects and had a smooth surface except for the sample containing the longest fluoroalkyl chain (perfluorododecyl group), which showed a wrinkle-like surface. The hydrophobic character of the coatings increased, whereas the oxygen permeation coefficient values decreased (reaching a fourfold lower coefficient in comparison to the bare substrate) with a higher content of the fluorinated carbon atoms in the structure. The results were enriched by the information from the thermomechanical analysis as well as nanoindentation and scratch tests giving values of the glass transition temperature, thermal expansion coefficient, coatings adhesion, and hardness of the investigated systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications)
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Review

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23 pages, 1715 KiB  
Review
Overview of Bioplastic Introduction and Its Applications in Product Packaging
by Nor Izaida Ibrahim, Farah Syazwani Shahar, Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan, Ain Umaira Md Shah, Syafiqah Nur Azrie Safri and Muhamad Hasfanizam Mat Yazik
Coatings 2021, 11(11), 1423; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11111423 - 22 Nov 2021
Cited by 123 | Viewed by 33306
Abstract
Each year, more than 330 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide. The main consumers of plastics are the packaging (40%), building (20%) and automotive (8%) industries, as well as for the manufacture of household appliances. The vast majority of industrial plastics are [...] Read more.
Each year, more than 330 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide. The main consumers of plastics are the packaging (40%), building (20%) and automotive (8%) industries, as well as for the manufacture of household appliances. The vast majority of industrial plastics are not biodegradable and, therefore, create environmental problems due to the increase in the amount of solid waste. Studies have been conducted to produce biodegradable materials such as bioplastics to overcome this environmental problem. Bioplastics are defined as materials that are bio-based, biodegradable, or both; they can provide excellent biodegradability and can be used to help alleviate environmental problems. Therefore, this article presents an overview of the introduction of bioplastic materials and classifications, and a comprehensive review of their drawbacks and areas of importance, including basic and applied research, as well as biopolymer mixtures and biocomposites developed in the last decade. At the same time, this article provides insights into the development of bioplastics research to meet the needs of many industries, especially in the packaging industry in Malaysia. This review paper also focuses generally on bioplastic packaging applications such as food and beverage, healthcare, cosmetics, etc. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Coating for Packaging Applications)
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