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Advanced Polymeric Materials and Nanocomposites for Green Plastics and Biodegradable Packaging

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 10002

Special Issue Editor

Department of Chemical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Interests: packaging materials; bio-based and biodegradable polymers; bio-based and biodegradable polyesters; green composites; polymerization of biopolymers; processing of bioplastics; sustainable polymer for food preservation; biopolymers for food packaging; edible films; compostable packaging; monomers from renewable resources; polymers from renewable resources; gas barrier properties; life cycle assessment (LCA) study; bioeconomy; circular economy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, there has been an increasing concern about the growing amount of plastic waste, coming from daily life. The development of new products with lower environmental charge in their whole life cycle is becoming even more urgent, considering also that more than 40% of total plastics production is used for short-term applications, such as in the food-packaging sector. Further, million tons of consumed plastics end up in landfills, because waste burial is still the first option in many countries. Different kinds of synthetic plastics are used for an extensive range of needs, but in order to reduce the impact of petroleum-based plastics and materials waste, considerable attention has been focused on green and biodegradable plastics. In this context, advanced polymeric materials and nanocomposites have recently gained much attention. Starting monomers and chemicals coming from natural resources and/or food processing wastes can also be considered as promising candidates for polymers and nanocomposites production. Their use in the packaging sector could be helpful to reduce the problems associated with waste management, avoiding ecological problems and environmental pollution and reducing, at the same time, the huge consumption of nonrenewable and nonbiodegradable materials.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of ongoing scientific and industrial research on this interesting topic.

Research as well as review articles are welcome.

Assoc. Prof. Valentina Siracusa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Advanced Polymer Materials
  • Green Plastics
  • Nanocomposites polymers
  • Nanocomposites membrane
  • Biodegradable packaging
  • Biobased packaging
  • Edible films
  • Gas and water vapor barrier properties
  • Bio-polyesters

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1555 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Composite Edible Films Based on Pectin/Alginate/Whey Protein Concentrate
by Swathi Sirisha Nallan Chakravartula, Michela Soccio, Nadia Lotti, Federica Balestra, Marco Dalla Rosa and Valentina Siracusa
Materials 2019, 12(15), 2454; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12152454 - 01 Aug 2019
Cited by 113 | Viewed by 5262
Abstract
Edible films and coatings gained renewed interest in the food packaging sector with polysaccharide and protein blending being explored as a promising strategy to improve properties of edible films. The present work studies composite edible films in different proportions of pectin (P), alginate [...] Read more.
Edible films and coatings gained renewed interest in the food packaging sector with polysaccharide and protein blending being explored as a promising strategy to improve properties of edible films. The present work studies composite edible films in different proportions of pectin (P), alginate (A) and whey Protein concentrate (WP) formulated with a simplex centroid mixture design and evaluated for physico-chemical characteristics to understand the effects of individual components on the final film performance. The studied matrices exhibited good film forming capacity, except for whey protein at a certain concentration, with thickness, elastic and optical properties correlated to the initial solution viscosity. A whey protein component in general lowered the viscosity of the initial solutions compared to that of alginate or pectin solutions. Subsequently, a whey protein component lowered the mechanical strength, as well as the affinity for water, as evidenced from an increasing contact angle. The effect of pectin was reflected in the yellowness index, whereas alginate and whey protein affected the opacity of film. Whey protein favored higher opacity, lower gas barrier values and dense structures, resulting from the polysaccharide-protein aggregates. All films displayed however good thermal stability, with degradation onset temperatures higher than 170 °C. Full article
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13 pages, 2497 KiB  
Article
Effect of Alkali Treatment on Structure and Properties of High Amylose Corn Starch Film
by Yang Qin, Hui Zhang, Yangyong Dai, Hanxue Hou and Haizhou Dong
Materials 2019, 12(10), 1705; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101705 - 26 May 2019
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 4244
Abstract
Alkali treatment is used for melt extrusion film formation with corn starch, but optimal conditions for this procedure are still unknown. In this study, the changes in properties and structure of high amylose corn starch (70%) films with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide [...] Read more.
Alkali treatment is used for melt extrusion film formation with corn starch, but optimal conditions for this procedure are still unknown. In this study, the changes in properties and structure of high amylose corn starch (70%) films with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), prepared by melting extrusion, were investigated. With increasing sodium hydroxide concentrations, the tensile strength of the high-amylose starch film decreased gradually, while the elongation at break increased. The tensile strength of the high amylose starch (HAS) film with 2% NaOH-treatment was 10.03 MPa and its elongation at break was 40%. A 2% NaOH-treatment promoted the orderly rearrangement of starch molecules and formed an Eh-type crystal structure, which enlarged the spacing of the single helix structure, increased the molecular mobility of the starch, and slowed down the process of recrystallization; a 10% NaOH-treatment oxidized the hydroxyl groups of the high amylose corn starch during extrusion, formed a poly-carbonyl structure, and initiated the degradation and cross-linking of starch molecule chains. Full article
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