Preparation and physicochemical characterization of zinc oxide/sodium cellulose composite for food packaging

Abstract

Zinc oxide/sodium cellulose composite with different ZnO loadings was prepared for the first time. Thecrystal structures of cellulose, sodium cellulose, and ZnO/sodium cellulose composite were characterized by FT-IR,XRD, XPS, SEM, and EDX. ZnO/sodium cellulose showed a similar XRD pattern to that of cellulose II. The XPSspectrum emphasized the presence of Zn 2+ and Na + ions in the prepared composite. Additionally, the SEM analysisshowed the growth of ZnO crystals on the sodium cellulose surface. UV-Vis spectrometry of the ZnO/sodium cellulosespectrum showed a distinguished absorption band at 360 nm that was attributed to the presence of ZnO particles onthe cellulosic fibers. As a result, the composite fibers swelled, and their diameter increased from 15 µm to 30 µm.Furthermore, ZnO/sodium cellulose exhibited lower air and water vapor permeability than cellulose and sodium celluloseand can be perfectly utilized as food packing film to increase the shelf life of preserved foods.