Much attention has been paid to utilizing microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) materials recently due to the advances in fields such as polymer technology and their possible use as alternative sources for eco-friendly packaging. The packaging materials, those related to food or pharmaceutical packaging in particular, often require the excellent water vapor barrier property to maintain the quality and storage life of products. MFC is renewable resources and possesses the mechanical properties sufficient for packaging application, therefore is a prime candidate for replacing oil-based plastic in packaging industry. However, MFC is hydrophilic in nature and lack water vapor barrier properties in comparison to petroleum-based plastic. To address this problem, a transparent thin film with high water vapor barrier property was prepared from the MFC and silanized acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) in this work. The reactive or silanized-AESO was synthesized by reacting AESO with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane through a Michael addition reaction. Silanized-AESO was coated on top surface of the MFC film and then cured at 80? for 30 min in an attempt to lower the water vapor transfer rate (WVTR) and increase the hydrophobicity of the film. When the coating weight was increased from approximately 1.0 g/m2 to 5.0 g/m2, the WVTR of reactive AESO treated film decreased from 1517 g/m2/d to 188 g/m2/d (38?, 90% RH), demonstrating the excellent moisture barrier property of the modified film. Moreover, the transparence of the MFC film was improved after the reactive coating was applied on the top of the film. Meanwhile, the contact angle was increased substantially, implying that the surface became more hydrophobic after the coating. The resulting film is promising as a green-based packaging material.

Hydrophobic modification of microfibrillated cellulose biocomposite with reactive soybean oil for green-based packaging

248th National Meeting (2014)

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