Transparent cellulose acetate/polyvinylidene difluoride films with heat dissipation for agricultural mulch application
Yongfang Chen, Yuting Dai, Yao Zhu, Songlin Xue, Fengxian Qiu, Tao Zhang
Abstract
Agricultural production is facing escalating heat problems due to global warming, with crops that thrive in hotter conditions at particular risk. Traditional agricultural films, while effective at insulating heat, lack inherent heat dissipation properties and typically require manual or mechanical intervention for temperature regulation, inevitably augmenting the economic costs associated with farming. In this work, the transparent agricultural films with heat dissipation function, which is prepared by solution blending and electrostatic spinning technology from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and cellulose acetate (CA) for the agricultural mulch films. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transparency tests showed that at a mass ratio of PVDF to CA of 3:1, a clear fiber interlacing network was observed at the microscopic level and excellent transparency was presented at the macroscopic level. When the intensity of sunlight reaches 600 W/cm², the internal temperature of the M 3.1 -PVDF/CA-E is 6.5 ℃ lower than that of the polyethylene films, effectively reducing the internal temperature. At the seed germination stage, not only was the germination rate of Chinese cabbage seeds covered with M 3.1 -PVDF/CA-E material significantly higher than that of polyethylene films, but its overall growth parameters were also more favorable. In comparison to the polyethylene films, Chinese cabbage covered with M 3.1 -PVDF/CA-E shows different degrees of advantages in terms of number of leaves, plant height, fresh weight per plant, fresh weight of above-ground portion, and dry weight of above-ground portion at the time of harvesting. This work offered a novel strategy for fabricated transparent agricultural films with heat dissipation properties and soil moisture retention for agricultural mulch application. • Transparent and heat dissipation cellulose acetate/polyvinylidene difluoride films were prepared. • The internal temperature of the M 3.1 -PVDF/CA-E is 6.5 ℃ lower than PE film. • The germination rate and growth of Chinese cabbage were stronger by M 3.1 -PVDF/CA-E-covered. • The transmittance of M 3.1 -PVDF/CA-E films is up to 90 %. • The tensile strength and elongation at break of M 3.1 -PVDF/CA-E is 15.3 MPa and 5.0 %.