preparation and characterization of chitosan/clay biodegradable nanocomposite for food packaging application

a bionanocomposite film was developed by nanoclay incorporation to chitosan films, using a solution casting method and the effects of nanoclay concentration (0.5, 1.0, and 3% w/w) on the physical and mechanical properties of the chitosan films were evaluated. moreover, x-ray diffraction (xrd), scanning electron microscopy, and fourier transform infrared spectra (ftir) were used for studying microstructure and internal interaction of the chitosan-based films. it was found that the water vapor permeability and the water gain of the chitosan films decreased more than 45% with nanoclay incorporation up to 3%. moreover nanoclay improved the tensile strength of the chitosan films about 20%. xrd and ftir results confirmed that the improvements in the nanocomposite properties may be due to the exfoliation of the nanoparticles, good interaction between nanoclay and the functional groups of chitosan chains, and good cross links in polymeric matrix.