Halloysite nanotube-modified chitosan/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose multifunction microporous food packaging film: Antimicrobial-radiative cooling and gas transportation functions.

Abstract

To address the inherent limitations of chitosan films and Halloysite nanotubes, a series of chitosan-based porous food packaging films (HHPs) were developed using amino-modified HNTs (HNTs-NH2) as a functional additive, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose as a viscoelastic reinforcing agent. Among them, HHP-2 has excellent mechanical properties (38.19 MPa), CO2 transmittance (1021cm3/(m2dbar)), antibacterial properties and biocompatibility. Further application of HHP-2 to banana fresh-keeping experiment found that HHP-2 could significantly prolong the shelf life of banana. In addition, HHP-2 exhibited an effective radiative cooling capability. When cherry tomatoes coated with the HHP-2 film-forming solution were exposed to a xenon lamp for 120 min, the surface temperature of cherry tomatoes decreased by 4.8 °C relative to the blank group. This strategy solves the problems of poor water resistance of chitosan films and the easy agglomeration of Halloysite nanotubes in solution, at the same time provides a new idea for cold chain transport.