Tung oil-based coatings towards sustainable paper packaging materials
Researchers present photopolymerisable bio-based coatings for paper-based packaging materials. The obtained coatings confer high hydrophobicity and papers with improved air barrier and mechanical properties were obtained.
Nowadays, the dependence on synthetic plastic-based materials for the preservation and transport of different types of products is very high, leading to major environmental and human health concerns, which highlights the importance of investigating sustainable options. In a new work, researchers report the use of a bio-based photopolymerisable coating formulation, composed of tung oil, and using Darocur 1173 as photoinitiator, to develop functional papers with hydrophobic and improved water barrier properties, without compromising other properties.
Optical and mechanical properties were not affected
Coated paper samples were prepared, using different irradiation times (0, 15, 30, 60, and 300 s), to study the effect of this parameter on the properties of the coated papers. The ensuing coated papers presented pick-up values between 6 and 7 g/m2. Their hydrophobicity was significantly improved as evidenced by the increase in the contact angle values from about 71° to 127° and the significant decrease in the water absorption. Furthermore, with this time of curing, the optical (viz. whiteness, brightness, and opacity) and mechanical properties (viz. tensile and burst strength) of paper were not affected.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 178, May 2023.
