Pectin/PVA and pectin-MgO/PVA films: Preparation, characterization and biodegradation studies

There is a great demand to replace non-renewable materials with eco-friendly renewable materials for many applications in recent times. In the present study, such an attempt was made to substitute synthetic polymer-based films used for food packaging applications with films prepared out of renewable materials derived from waste. The pectin/polyvinyl alcohol (PP) and pectin-MgO/polyvinyl alcohol (PMP) films were prepared and characterized to ascertain their suitability for packaging applications. To improve the mechanical strength and thermal stability of films, MgO nanoparticles were incorporated in situ into the polymer matrix. The pectin used in the study was extracted from citrus fruit peel. The prepared nanocomposite films were evaluated for physico-mechanical properties, water contact angle, thermal stability, crystallinity, morphology, compositional purity and biodegradability. The elongation at break for PP film was 42.24% and for PMP film it was 39.18%. Also, the ultimate modulus in terms of MPa for PP film was 6.8 and for PMP it was 7.9. So, it was found that PMP films have better ductility and modulus than PP films due to the presence of MgO nanoparticles. The spectral studies confirmed the compositional purity of the prepared films. The biodegradation studies revealed that both films could be degraded at ambient conditions at appreciable time span, suggesting them to be a better choice as an environmentally friendly food packaging material.