ORS7-1543
Fabrication of Poly(ethylene furanoate)/Poly(L-lactic acid) (PEF/PLLA) and Active Agent Nanocomposites with Improved Physical and Antimicrobial Properties
Topic
S7. Innovations in Polymeric Composites: From Design and Processing to Industrial Applications
When and Where
Oct 1, 2026
15:15 - 15:30
Room 107
Session Chairs
Jin Chul KIM
Presenter(s)
Hikmatun Nimah (Department of Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Surabaya)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Poly(ethylene 2,5-furan dicarboxylate) (PEF) is polyesters based on 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid which derived from biomass. PEF is a new class of biobased polymers with superior properties compared to those of their fossil-based homologues, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). However, it is less flexible, low thermal stability, and brittle. In this study, PEF-based nanocomposites were fabricated with antimicrobial nanoparticles by solvent blending method. The PEF matrix was blended with poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) to improve physical properties and incorporated with zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) to improve antimicrobial properties. PLLA is biodegradable polyester that is widely applied as a flexible packaging film. Maleic anhydride (MA) was added in polymer blend to improve its compatibility. The amount of PLLA and active agent in the composite/nanocomposite films were varied to observe its effect on the properties of composites/nanocomposites. The PEF/PLLA blends showed a significant improvement in elongation at break with the increasing of PLLA content and comparable tensile strength and young modulus, as well as for PEF/PLLA-ZnO and PEF/PLLA-TiO2 nanocomposites. According to crystallinity investigations, PEF/PLLA blends exhibit slightly decrease in crystallinity index and slightly increase for PEF/PLLA nanocomposites. The compatibilization effect of MA in polymer blends and nanocomposites was confirmed by FTIR and SEM analyses. Finally, antimicrobial investigation reported excellent inhibition of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria growth for nanocomposite with ZnO nanoparticles as antimicrobial agent, with the inhibition zone of 8 – 11 mm for 6 days. Thus, the results in this study showed great potential in the field of food or secondary packaging.
