Microwave-assisted synthesis of poly (acrylamide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)/chitosan semi-IPN ZnO nanocomposite membranes for food packaging applications
Mallikarjunagouda B. Patil, Shwetarani B. Rajamani, Shridhar N. Mathad, Arun Y. Patil, Mahmoud A. Hussain, Hajer Saeed Alorfii, Anish Khan, Abdullah M. Asiri, Imran Khan, Madhu Puttegowda
Abstract
Microwave irradiation is used in this study to synthesize poly (acrylamide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)/chitosan (P(AM-co-HEMA)/chitosan) semi-IPN hydrogels, which are synthesized using one-pot polymerization techniques with ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator. The first step was to synthesize a (P(AM-co-HEMA) network in a chitosan aqueous solution, which formed a semi-IPN structure. Nanocomposite membranes of P(AM-co-HEMA)/chitosan membranes with varying Zinc oxide concentrations i.e. 2.5, 5, and 10 wt. % gravimetrically were tested for gas permeability measurements of pure oxygen gas at feed pressures ranging from 1 to 20 kg/cm2. The permeability of the membranes to oxygen ranged from 0.0963 to 0.2634 Barrer for the pristine Poly (Acrylamide-co-2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate)/Chitosan Semi-IPN membrane, and 5 and 10 wt. % ZnO loaded blend membranes showed good resistance and zero permeability at feed pressures of 1–5 kg/cm2 and 0.0341 to 0.0364 Barrer for 10 wt. % ZnO loaded blend membranes by increasing the feed pressures at the feed chamber. The nanocomposite membranes were tested for antimicrobial properties and found to be a more effective antimicrobial material. The results of the soil burial tests show that the prepared membranes are biodegradable. Mechanical strength is exceptional under normal conditions.