Superhydrophobic cellulose paper with sustained antibacterial activity prepared by in-situ growth of carvacrol-loaded zinc-based metal organic framework nanorods for food packaging application

Nano/micro flexible fiber and paper-based advanced functional packaging materials

Recently, fiber-based and functional paper food packaging has garnered significant attention for its versatility, excellent performance, and potential to provide sustainable solutions to the food packaging industry. Fiber-based food packaging is characterized by its large surface area, adjustable porosity and customizability, while functional paper-based food packaging typically exhibits good mechanical strength and barrier properties. This review summarizes the latest research progress on food packaging based on fibers and functional paper. Firstly, the raw materials used for preparing fiber and functional paper, along with their physical and chemical properties and roles in food packaging, were discussed. Subsequently, the latest advancements in the application of fiber and paper materials in food packaging were introduced. This paper also discusses future research directions and potential areas for improvement in fiber and functional paper food packaging to further enhance their effectiveness in ensuring food safety, quality, and sustainability.

Antimicrobial and hydrophobic cellulose paper prepared by covalently attaching cinnamaldehyde for strawberries preservation

The demand for paper-based packaging materials as an alternative to incumbent disposable petroleum-derived polymers for food packaging applications is ever-growing. However, typical paper-based formats are not suitable for use in unconventional applications due to inherent limitations (e.g., excessive hydrophilicity, lack antimicrobial ability), and accordingly, enabling new capabilities is necessity. Herein, a simple and environmentally friendly strategy was proposed to introduce antimicrobial and hydrophobic functions to cellulose paper through successive chemical grafting of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) and cinnamaldehyde (CA). The results revealed that cellulose paper not only showed long-term antibacterial effect on different bacteria, but also inhibited a wide range of fungi. Encouragingly, the modified paper, which is fluorine-free, displays a high contact angle of 119.7°. Thus, even in the wet state, the modified paper can still maintain good mechanical strength. Meanwhile, the multifunctional composite papers have excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Compared with ordinary cellulose paper, multifunctional composite paper can effectively prolong the shelf life of strawberries. Therefore, the multifunctional composite paper represents good application potential as a fruit packaging material.

High-Performance Flexible Ionically Conductive Superhydrophobic Papers via Deep Eutectic Polymer-Enhanced Interfacial Interactions

Endowing paper with highly flexible, conductive, and superhydrophobic properties will effectively expand its applications in fields such as green packaging, smart sensing, and paper-based electronics. Herein, a multifunctional superhydrophobic paper is reported in which a highly flexible transparent conductive substrate is prepared by introducing a hydrophobic deep eutectic polymer into the ethylcellulose network via a matrix swelling-polymerization strategy, and then the substrate is modified using fluorinated silica to impart superhydrophobicity. By introducing soft deep eutectic polymers, (1) the superhydrophobic paper can efficiently dissipate energy during deformation, (2) intrinsically ion-conducting deep eutectic polymers can endow the material with good electrical sensing properties, and (3) meanwhile, enhanced interfacial interactions can anchor inorganic particles, thereby improving the coating stability. The prepared superhydrophobic paper has an ultrahigh water contact angle (contact angle ≈ 162.2°) and exhibits a stable electrical response signal to external deformation/pressure, and the electrical properties are almost unaffected by external water molecules. In addition, the superhydrophobic paper was able to withstand 5000 bending-recovery cycles at a large angle of 150°, exhibiting stable electrical performance. The design concepts demonstrated here will provide insights into the development of superhydrophobic paper-based flexible electronic devices.

Pore engineering of micro/mesoporous nanomaterials for encapsulation, controlled release and variegated applications of essential oils

Essential oils have become increasingly popular in fields of medical, food and agriculture, owing to their strongly antimicrobial, anti-inflammation and antioxidant effects, greatly meeting demand from consumers for healthy and safe natural products. However, the easy volatility and/or chemical instability of active ingredients of essential oils (EAIs) can result in the loss of activity before realizing their functions, which have greatly hindered the widely applications of EAIs. As an emerging trend, micro/mesoporous nanomaterials (MNs) have drawn great attention for encapsulation and controlled release of EAIs, owing to their tunable pore structural characteristics. In this review, we briefly discuss the recent advances of MNs that widely used in the controlled release of EAIs, including zeolites, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), mesoporous silica nanomaterials (MSNs), and provide a comprehensive summary focusing on the pore engineering strategies of MNs that affect their controlled-release or triggered-release for EAIs, including tailorable pore structure properties (e.g., pore size, pore surface area, pore volume, pore geometry, and framework compositions) and surface properties (surface modification and surface functionalization). Finally, the variegated applications and potential challenges are also given for MNs based delivery strategies for EAIs in the fields of healthcare, food and agriculture. These will provide considerable instructions for the rational design of MNs for controlled release of EAIs.

In situ facile synthesis and antibacterial activity of Ag-MOFs/cellulose filter paper composites for fruit fresh-keeping

A large number of fresh fruits are wasted in the supply chain due to spoilage, so it is crucial to develop fruit preservation materials. Herein, two novel Ag-MOFs/carboxymethyl filter paper (Ag-MOFs/CMFP) composites were successfully synthesized by in situ facile synthesis, which can be used as packaging materials to delay fruit spoilage. The synthesis process is simple and environmentally friendly, and the reaction conditions are mild. The mechanical property, water stability, and antibacterial activity of the as-synthesized Ag-MOFs/CMFP composites were investigated. Specifically, the composites exhibited high mechanical performance and the tensile strength was >10.00 MPa. Moreover, the composites displayed good water stability and can remain stable in water environment for >7 days, which can be attributed to the strong interaction between Ag-MOFs and CMFP. Significantly, Ag-MOF particles endow the composite papers with excellent antibacterial activity, which can inactivate 99.9 % of the bacteria. Attributed to these characteristics, these composite papers were used as fruit fresh-keeping materials and can prolong the shelf-life of cherry tomatoes and peaches for >10 days. This research not only provides a facile synthesis strategy for the flexible MOFs paper, but also provides instructive guidance for related research on fruit preservation materials.

Recent Advances in Superhydrophobic and Antibacterial Cellulose-Based Fibers and Fabrics: Bio-inspiration, Strategies, and Applications

Cellulose-based fabrics are ubiquitous in our daily lives. They are the preferred choice for bedding materials, active sportswear, and next-to-skin apparels. However, the hydrophilic and polysaccharide characteristics of cellulose materials make them vulnerable to bacterial attack and pathogen infection. The design of antibacterial cellulose fabrics has been a long-term and on-going effort. Fabrication strategies based on the construction of surface micro-/nanostructure, chemical modification, and the application of antibacterial agents have been extensively investigated by many research groups worldwide. This review systematically discusses recent research on super-hydrophobic and antibacterial cellulose fabrics, focusing on morphology construction and surface modification. First, natural surfaces showing liquid-repellent and antibacterial properties are introduced and the mechanisms behind are explained. Then, the strategies for fabricating super-hydrophobic cellulose fabrics are summarized, and the contribution of the liquid-repellent function to reducing the adhesion of live bacteria and removing dead bacteria is elucidated. Representative studies on cellulose fabrics functionalized with super-hydrophobic and antibacterial properties are discussed in detail, and their potential applications are also introduced. Finally, the challenges in achieving super-hydrophobic antibacterial cellulose fabrics are discussed, and the future research direction in this area is proposed.

Graphical Abstract

The figure summarizes the natural surfaces and the main fabrication strategies of superhydrophobic antibacterial cellulose fabrics and their potential applications.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42765-023-00297-1.