A study of the barrier properties of polyethylene coated with a nanocellulose/magnetite composite film

Abstract

The morphological, thermal and barrier properties of low-density polyethylene/polycaprolactone-modified nanocellulose hybrid materials were investigated in this study. Nanocellulose/magnetite (NC-Fe3O4) nanocomposite and maleic acid functionalized NC/magnetite (NCMA-Fe3O4) nanocomposite were prepared and used as fillers at various concentrations (5, 10 and 15 wt. %) in the polycaprolactone (PCL) layer. PE was coated with a PCL/NC//magnetite layer. The addition of the filler did not unfavorably affect the inherent properties of the polymer, especially its barrier properties. Oxygen permeation measurements showed that the oxygen barrier properties of magnetite enriched PCL film were improved due to the chemical activity of the added material. The highest level of the barrier capacity was observed for PE samples coated with a PCL-based composite with NCMA-Fe3O4 micro/nanofiller, which implies a significant contribution of the surface modification of the nanocellulose with maleic anhydride residue to the improved barrier properties.