Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging Applications

Microplastics from synthetic polymers significantly impact ecosystems and human health, making biodegradable polymers a promising alternative. To enhance their properties, nanofillers have been widely explored. In this study, TiO2 nanoparticles, alone and combined with B8 OMMT clay, were incorporate...

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Main Authors: Antônio de Assis Pereira Teles da Silva, Regina Felipe do Ó, Luciana da Cunha Costa, Fernanda Abbate dos Santos, Gisele Cristina Valle Iulianelli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação Brasileira de Metalurgia e Materiais (ABM); Associação Brasileira de Cerâmica (ABC); Associação Brasileira de Polímeros (ABPol) 2025-06-01
Series:Materials Research
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392025000100250&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Antônio de Assis Pereira Teles da Silva
Regina Felipe do Ó
Luciana da Cunha Costa
Fernanda Abbate dos Santos
Gisele Cristina Valle Iulianelli
author_facet Antônio de Assis Pereira Teles da Silva
Regina Felipe do Ó
Luciana da Cunha Costa
Fernanda Abbate dos Santos
Gisele Cristina Valle Iulianelli
author_sort Antônio de Assis Pereira Teles da Silva
collection DOAJ
description Microplastics from synthetic polymers significantly impact ecosystems and human health, making biodegradable polymers a promising alternative. To enhance their properties, nanofillers have been widely explored. In this study, TiO2 nanoparticles, alone and combined with B8 OMMT clay, were incorporated into a PBAT matrix to improve its functionality for food packaging applications. Results revealed that nanofillers did not significantly alter PBAT’s crystallinity (Xc ≈ 33%) or thermal stability (Tonset ≈ 375 °C), and the nanocomposites exhibited a predominantly intercalated morphology. Furthermore, low concentrations of nanofillers improved matrix uniformity. Contact angle measurements showed increased hydrophilicity in all formulations, with B8 OMMT systems exhibiting the highest hydrophilicity. The mechanical performance of the PBAT/B8/TiO2 systems was more promising in terms of stiffness, with a 44% increase in Young’s modulus for the PBAT/B8/TiO2 0.5% system. However, all PBAT/B8/TiO2 systems exhibited a more pronounced loss of ductility. Water activity (aW) analysis demonstrated that TiO2 alone reduced aW values to 0.50–0.53, which could potentially enhance biosafety, while the addition of B8 OMMT increased aW to 0.69–0.76, potentially increasing susceptibility to microbial growth. Notably, systems with TiO2 alone showed the greatest potential for food packaging applications due to their increased biosafety, thermal stability, and favorable set of properties.
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language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Associação Brasileira de Metalurgia e Materiais (ABM); Associação Brasileira de Cerâmica (ABC); Associação Brasileira de Polímeros (ABPol)
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-3bfd7801ea9740178b6eebccc5e905792025-08-20T03:11:03ZengAssociação Brasileira de Metalurgia e Materiais (ABM); Associação Brasileira de Cerâmica (ABC); Associação Brasileira de Polímeros (ABPol)Materials Research1516-14392025-06-012810.1590/1980-5373-mr-2024-0506Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging ApplicationsAntônio de Assis Pereira Teles da Silvahttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-3705-1683Regina Felipe do Óhttps://orcid.org/0009-0005-8867-3000Luciana da Cunha Costahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2374-5043Fernanda Abbate dos Santoshttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-0132-1910Gisele Cristina Valle Iulianellihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2511-4875Microplastics from synthetic polymers significantly impact ecosystems and human health, making biodegradable polymers a promising alternative. To enhance their properties, nanofillers have been widely explored. In this study, TiO2 nanoparticles, alone and combined with B8 OMMT clay, were incorporated into a PBAT matrix to improve its functionality for food packaging applications. Results revealed that nanofillers did not significantly alter PBAT’s crystallinity (Xc ≈ 33%) or thermal stability (Tonset ≈ 375 °C), and the nanocomposites exhibited a predominantly intercalated morphology. Furthermore, low concentrations of nanofillers improved matrix uniformity. Contact angle measurements showed increased hydrophilicity in all formulations, with B8 OMMT systems exhibiting the highest hydrophilicity. The mechanical performance of the PBAT/B8/TiO2 systems was more promising in terms of stiffness, with a 44% increase in Young’s modulus for the PBAT/B8/TiO2 0.5% system. However, all PBAT/B8/TiO2 systems exhibited a more pronounced loss of ductility. Water activity (aW) analysis demonstrated that TiO2 alone reduced aW values to 0.50–0.53, which could potentially enhance biosafety, while the addition of B8 OMMT increased aW to 0.69–0.76, potentially increasing susceptibility to microbial growth. Notably, systems with TiO2 alone showed the greatest potential for food packaging applications due to their increased biosafety, thermal stability, and favorable set of properties.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392025000100250&lng=en&tlng=enPBATTiO2claynanocompositesbiodegradable food packaging
spellingShingle Antônio de Assis Pereira Teles da Silva
Regina Felipe do Ó
Luciana da Cunha Costa
Fernanda Abbate dos Santos
Gisele Cristina Valle Iulianelli
Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging Applications
Materials Research
PBAT
TiO2
clay
nanocomposites
biodegradable food packaging
title Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging Applications
title_full Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging Applications
title_fullStr Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging Applications
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging Applications
title_short Comparative Study of the Addition of TiO2 and TiO2/OMMT Clay on the Properties of PBAT for Biodegradable Food Packaging Applications
title_sort comparative study of the addition of tio2 and tio2 ommt clay on the properties of pbat for biodegradable food packaging applications
topic PBAT
TiO2
clay
nanocomposites
biodegradable food packaging
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392025000100250&lng=en&tlng=en
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