Self-Cleaning Polyolefin Films for Advanced Food Packaging

Abstract

Polymers have been used in diverse applications as versatile materials owing to their exceptional properties. Polymers preserve food from contamination and extend shelf life, therefore suitable for food packaging. Despite their advantages, a 15% of food waste stems from packaging, particularly due to difficulties in complete product extraction. This project addresses this challenge by developing hydrophobic polyethylene (PE) films with low contact angle hysteresis (CAH) to minimize food waste.
The study investigates the self-cleaning potential of erucamide and silica nanoparticles as additives in PE films. Blown film extrusion was used to fabricate PE/Erucamide and PE/Silica composites with varying additive concentrations. The films were comprehensively characterized for their surface wettability (particularly CAH), mechanical, optical and barrier properties as well as thermal stability.
Key results have demonstrated that both additives significantly reduce CAH and enhance droplet mobility: PE/Erucamide achieved a 35% reduction in CAH while improving mechanical flexibility; PE/Silica showed a 28% CAH reduction, alongside improved seal initiation temperature (SIT) and optical transparency. Moreover, PE film combining both additives exhibited further enhancement of CAH, achieving a minimum CAH of 18.75°.
This thesis provides valuable insights into the structure-property relationships of additive modified PE films and offers a foundation for designing functional and sustainable food packaging materials.

Date of Award	Jul 2025
Original language	American English
Supervisor	TJ Zhang (Supervisor)