Physicochemical and Engineering Properties of Nanocomposite Films Based on Chitosan and Pseudoboehmite Alumina

Chitosan-based nanocomposite plastic films were developed by adding 0, 1, 3, and 5 % boehmite alumina (BAH) nanoparticles as a percentage of chitosan powder weight. The films were cast via solution. The effect of BAH content on the physicochemical and engineering properties of the resultant films were determined. The swelling, water vapor adsorption capacity, and transparency were significantly reduced with increased BAH content. The stability of the films against microbial degradation under high relative humidity also increased with BAH content. The water vapor permeability (WVP) reduced with increased temperature giving rise to negative activation energy values, which ranged between 2.08 and 3.36 kJ/mol. However, at constant temperature, inclusion of BAH did not have significant effect on water vapor permeability (WVP). WVP was predicted to high accuracy (r2 = 0.984) using a full quadratic regression model. All the films had similar tensile and thermal behaviors. The implications of the findings are discussed based on prospective applications of the biodegradable film especially for fresh produce packaging.