PET (polyethylene terephthalate) being widely used in the manufacturing of bottles, especially in the beverages industry, has obvious advantages over glass bottles and cans, including but not limited to its transparency, robustness, and light weightiness, etc. However, its permeability is a major concern for scientists as it evidently affects the quality of packaged food, especially beverages. The fact that it easily allows gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide to pass through them makes it less effective and least cost-efficient when compared with its substitutes. Alternatively, if its permeability is ameliorated, this can drastically improve the overall statistics of profits in the beverage industry. This paper attempts to improve the gas barrier property of PET via a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) permeation. Through temperature-induced solution processing, WS2 (tungsten disulfide) is disseminated in PET. The decrease in CO2 permeability in WS2 nanosheets/PET composites is assessed. After an 11-h test run, free-standing composite membranes demonstrated a maximum 99.9 permeability decrease at extremely low filler loading (0.005 wt WS2) in contrast to the polymer. It is interesting to note that WS2 loading over 0.005 wt completely reduced permeation. High-aspect-ratio WS2, homogenous dispersion inside PET, and jiggling effect surrounding nanosheets per flake have all contributed to the gas flow's winding path's complexity. Through the use of models developed by Bharadwaj, Neilson, Lape, and Cussler, experimental findings have been confirmed. SEM evaluates the dispersion state, and X-ray diffraction has validated the formation of composites. Higher mechanical resilience of WS2 nanosheets/PET composites and adhesion property was demonstrated by tensile testing and tribology technique. graphics .
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