Organic and Inorganic Fillers' Role on the Amelioration of Kappaphycus spp.-based Biopolymer Films' Performance

The potential of organic and inorganic fillers at different loadings (ranging from 1% to 10%) was evaluated as a means to enhance the performance of Kappaphycus spp.-derived biopolymer films. The morphological properties of organic and inorganic fillers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The organic fillers displayed an irregular rod shape with sizes from 60 mu m to 80 mu m, while the inorganic fillers displayed spherical shapes with a much smaller size range (0.08 mu m to 0.25 mu m). The contact angle (CA) and mechanical properties of the fabricated biopolymer films were remarkably enhanced compared to the neat biopolymer films due to the incorporation of organic and inorganic fillers. The highest tensile strength (TS), CA, and water barrier properties were attained by biopolymer films that incorporated 5% organic and 1% inorganic fillers. Up to now, there has been no such report on the role of organic and inorganic fillers on tuning the performance of the Kappaphycus spp.-based biopolymer films. This work demonstrated that the biopolymer films containing inorganic fillers promoted better physical-mechanical performance compared to the biopolymer films with organic fillers, achieving desirable properties for various packaging applications.