Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) based Sustainable Nanocomposites with Improved Mechanical and Barrier Properties for Packaging Applications

摘要

This research work is focused on the melt extrusion of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) with poly (butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) (PBAT) and nanoclay followed by preparing polymer nanocomposite sheets using compression moulding.The effect of nanoclay on various properties such as water barrier,tensile strength,differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rheology was investigated.The results conclude the addition of nanoclay in PHBV/PBAT blend matrix improved the water barrier and tensile strength up to ~12% and ~20% respectively.The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis shows a slight improvement in melting and crystallization temperatures of PHBV/PBAT blend matrix by adding nanoclay.The melt rheology has confirmed a good dispersion of nanoparticles in PHBV/PBAT blend matrix.Hence,such a polymer bionanocomposites may be one of the potential candidate for packaging applications.The developed biocomposites from biodegradable plastics show promise in sustainable packaging applications.