Mechanical and antibacterial properties of recycled carton paper coated by PS/Ag nanocomposites for packaging

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites and paper constitute a new class of packaging materials. In this study silver nanoparticles were prepared by novel method as antibacterial additive, where, synthetic takes place with aid of a novel, non-toxic, and eco-friendly biological materials namely rice straw (RS) powder. The prepared Ag nanoparticle was examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) and UV-spectroscopy. The silver nanoparticles were then embedded into commercial polystyrene solution. The recycled carton paper was coated by the polystyrene nanocomposites containing different concentration of silver nanoparticles, namely 2, 4, 6 and 8% based on polystyrene. The prepared recycled carton sheets were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The mechanical properties, water vapor permeability and antibacterial effect of recycled carton sheets were also investigated.