Plastic-based materials are frequently used in packaging and can be seen universally in both the developed and developing societies. At present, most of the currently used food packaging materials are nondegradable and are creating serious environmental problems. New technologies are being explored and developed to study the complex interaction between the food packaging materials and food. For example, nanocomposite of cellulose constitutes environmentally friendly packaging, which is easily recycled by combustion and requires low power consumption in production. There are several such biodegradable materials which are available at a low price, have good mechanical properties and allow disposal in the soil. This is advantageous because biological degradation produces only carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic compounds to name a few. It has also been discovered that biodegradable plastics made of such materials can be disposed of together with organic waste. The widespread use of biopolymers in the place of standard plastics would help to reduce the weight of waste. Therefore, biodegradable materials take part in the natural cycle “from nature to nature” and play an important role for environmental sustainability. So, in this article, we briefly summarize the different characteristic of biodegradable polymers being used in food packaging applications.

The synthesis, thermal, and mechanical properties of epoxy resin composites incorporating waste fibers of hemp were studied. Five different systems with increasing quantity of the eco-filler were obtained. For the synthesis of polymeric materials, the commercial epoxy resins Epidian^® 5 and triethylenetetramine (TETA) were applied as crosslinking agents. The composites were obtained based on the polyaddition reaction of an amine group with an epoxide ring. ATR/FT-IR (Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared) analysis was used to confirm the chemical structure of the composites and the course of curing processes. Moreover, the influence of the eco-friendly components on the mechanical properties was determined, while thermal properties of the materials were investigated by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Dynamic mechanical studies (DMA) and Shore hardness tests of the obtained polymers were also carried out. The DSC curves and DMA analysis revealed that all materials were characterized by a similar glass transition range. Furthermore, the DMA and hardness measurements of the composites demonstrated an increasing elasticity with the increase in the amount of eco-filler present in the compositions.

In the presented work the influence of different 3MgO·4SiO₂·H₂O (talc) contents in polypropylene samples on the structure, hardness, elasticity, and friction of the surface layer was investigated. The talc content ranged from 0 to 25 wt.%, and all the samples were obtained in the same conditions by the injection molding process. The analysis of the microstructure was performed by X-ray diffraction. Changes in the hardness and elasticity were determined for three different depths (300, 800, and 4000 nm) using an ultra nano tester. For the purpose of the examination of the friction properties of the obtained compounds, a nano-scratch tester was applied. Increasing the talc content caused growth in the indentation modulus and hardness values. Simultaneously, an effect of decreasing hardness and elastic modulus with increasing indentation depth was observed. The smallest effect size was observed for 25 wt.% talc content, which might suggest that talc addition increased the homogeneity of the observed composites. Scratch tests showed increasing scratch resistance along with increasing talc content for both constant and progressive loads. The growth in talc concentration led to a decrease in the degree of the polypropylene (PP) crystallinity of the surface layer. The exfoliation process occurred in PP composites.

In this paper flammability tests and detailed investigations of lignin-containing polymer composites’ properties are presented. Composites were obtained using bisphenol A glycerolate (1 glycerol/phenol) diacrylate (BPA.GDA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and kraft lignin (lignin alkali, L) during UV curing. In order to evaluate the influence of lignin modification and the addition of flame retardant compounds on the thermal resistance of the obtained biocomposites, flammability tests have been conducted. After the modification with phosphoric acid (V) lignin, as well as diethyl vinylphosphonate, were used as flame retardant additives. The changes in the chemical structures (ATR-FTIR), as well as the influence of the different additives on the hardness, thermal (TG) and mechanical properties were discussed in detail. The samples after the flammability test were also studied to assess their thermal destruction.

Biomaterial research has led to revolutionary healthcare advances. Natural biological macromolecules can impact high-performance, multipurpose materials. This has prompted the quest for affordable healthcare solutions, with a focus on renewable biomaterials with a wide variety of applications and ecologically friendly techniques. Imitating their chemical compositions and hierarchical structures, bioinspired based materials have elevated rapidly over the past few decades. Bio-inspired strategies entail extracting fundamental components and reassembling them into programmable biomaterials. This method may improve its processability and modifiability, allowing it to meet the biological application criteria. Silk is a desirable biosourced raw material due to its high mechanical properties, flexibility, bioactive component sequestration, controlled biodegradability, remarkable biocompatibility, and inexpensiveness. Silk regulates temporo-spatial, biochemical and biophysical reactions. Extracellular biophysical factors regulate cellular destiny dynamically. This review examines the bioinspired structural and functional properties of silk material based scaffolds. We explored silk types, chemical composition, architecture, mechanical properties, topography, and 3D geometry to unlock the body’s innate regenerative potential, keeping in mind the novel biophysical properties of silk in film, fiber, and other potential forms, coupled with facile chemical changes, and its ability to match functional requirements for specific tissues.