Evaluation of the mechanical and thermal properties of PHB/canola oil films

Abstract Packages are essential for the food processing industry. Among the innovative alternatives there is antimicrobial packaging, which aims to reduce or inhibit microbial growing on the food surface. One potential to produce this type of package is poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-PHB additivated with canola oil. In this work, films of PHB additivated with canola oil were produced in different compositions. Mid-infrared records, tensile mechanical testing and thermal analyses were performed on the films. The results of the mechanical tests indicated that the addition of canola oil to the polymeric matrix of PHB increases the material flexibility. The thermal analyses results showed that the addition of canola oil changes the thermal properties of PHB, such as the melting and crystallization temperatures, maximum crystallization rate and relative crystallinity. The knowledge of these properties is fundamental for the manufacturing process of polymeric materials, due to the specifications required for these materials in the intended applications.

摘要 包装材料对于食品加工产业至关重要。在各类创新替代方案中，抗菌包装（antimicrobial packaging）旨在降低或抑制食品表面的微生物生长。制备此类包装的一种可行方案为采用添加菜籽油的聚(3-羟基丁酸酯)（poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-PHB）。本研究制备了不同组分配比的添加菜籽油的PHB薄膜，并对其开展了中红外光谱测试、拉伸力学性能测试与热分析。力学测试结果表明，向PHB的聚合物基体中添加菜籽油可提升材料的柔韧性。热分析结果显示，菜籽油的添加会改变PHB的热性能，包括熔融温度、结晶温度、最大结晶速率与相对结晶度。鉴于这类材料在目标应用场景中所需的性能规范，掌握上述性能参数对于聚合物材料的加工制备流程至关重要。