This study was aimed at developing new films based on isotactic polypropylene (iPP) for food packaging applications using zinc oxide (ZnO) with submicron dimension particles obtained by spray pyrolysis. To improve compatibility with iPP, the ZnO particles were coated with stearic acid (ZnOc). Composites based on iPP with 2 wt % and 5 wt % of ZnOc were prepared in a twin-screw extruder and then filmed by a calender. The effect of ZnOc on the properties of iPP were assessed and compared with those obtained in previous study on iPP/ZnO and iPP/iPPgMA/ZnO. For all composites, a homogeneous distribution and dispersion of ZnOc was obtained indicating that the coating with stearic acid of the ZnO particles reduces the surface polarity mismatch between iPP and ZnO. The iPP/ZnOc composite films have relevant antibacterial properties with respect to E. coli, higher thermal stability and improved mechanical and impact properties than the pure polymer and the composites iPP/ZnO and iPP/iPPgMA/ZnO. This study demonstrated that iPP/ZnOc films are suitable materials for potential application in the active packaging field.

This paper compares the properties of iPP based composites and PLA based biocomposites using 5% of ZnO particles or ZnO particles coated with stearic acid as filler. In particular, the effect of coating on the UV stability, thermostability, mechanical, barrier, and antibacterial properties of the polymer matrix were compared and related to the dispersion and distribution of the loads in the polymer matrix and the strength of the adhesion between the matrix and the particles. This survey demonstrated that, among the reported systems, iPP/5%ZnOc and PLA/5%ZnO films are the most suitable active materials for potential application in the active food packaging field.