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Home > Vol 16, No 3 (Jul.–Sep. 2023): Special Issue > Thiruganasambantham

Fabrication and Characterization of an Active Nanocomposite Film based on Polystyrene/Thyme/Nano ZnO for Food Packaging

Theivasanthi Thiruganasambantham, Senthil Muthu Kumar Thiagamani, Hariram Natarajan, Suchart Siengchin, Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa

Abstract


The main objective of this research is to develop an active antifungal packaging material utilizing polystyrene as the matrix material with active agents. The uniqueness of this study lies in the use of thyme extract as a reducing agent in the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The nanocomposite film was fabricated by impregnating zinc oxide nanoparticles in polystyrene. The nanocomposite films were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM and antifungal testing. The crystallite size of the synthesized ZnO NPs was observed to be in the 20–30 nm range. The FTIR spectra revealed the presence of ZnO NPs at the peak of 1000 cm–1. The morphological analysis showed the nanoparticles having a spherical shape. The results indicated that nanocomposite films exhibited excellent resistance against the fungus viz., Pencillum sp, Nigrospora oryzae and Chaetomium oryzae. The development of such active packaging materials with nanoparticles to preserve food grains will pave the way for a new technological path in food packaging applications.

Keywords



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DOI: 10.14416/j.asep.2022.11.003

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