Aminated graphene oxide reinforced gelatin-chitosan composite films toward biopackaging: Preparation and properties

Developing high-performance biobased composite films has garnered increasing attention in recent years. Herein, a new nano-reinforcement strategy for gelatin-chitosan composite film (GCCF) was proposed. Aminated graphene oxide (AGO) was first prepared via the modification of GO using ethylenediamine, and subsequently incorporated into GCCF to finally fabricate an AGO modified GCCF composite film (AGCCF). FTIR and XPS indicated that GO underwent partial reduction upon interaction with ethylenediamine. XRD, SEM and AFM suggested that AGO contributed to a more amorphous and even network structure of AGCCF. Notably, at an AGO concentration of 1.0 %, the moisture content decreased to 9.09 %, the swelling ratio was reduced by approximately 38.62 %, and water vapor permeability diminished by about 22.60 %. Furthermore, as the concentration of AGO increased, there was a corresponding decrease in transparency and a darkening in color observed for AGCCF. Specifically, the transmittance at 280 nm for AGCCF with the highest AGO dosage (1.0 %) decreased by 55.96 %, indicating improved UV shielding efficiency compared to GCCF. Additionally, the tensile strength of AGCCF reached up to 23.88 MPa, representing an increase of 359.23 % relative to that of GCCF (5.20 MPa). These findings suggest that the developed high-performance AGCCF holds considerable promise for applications in biopackaging.