Effect of TiO2 and ZnO on Thin Film Properties of PET/PBS Blend for Food Packaging Applications

This research was aimed to investigate the effect of TiO2 and ZnO along with its ratio on physical, thermal, mechanical and antibacterial properties of PET-poly(ethylene terephthalate) and PBS-poly(butylene succinate) blend thin film. The content of TiO2 and ZnO was added at 1% and 2%wt on PET/PBS (ratio of 90:10) blend thin film because the ratio of PET and PBS of 90:10 was found to be the best in clarity. The melting temperature of PET/PBS blends were completely separated due to immiscibility of polymer blend. The addition of ZnO made film more transparency than TiO2 because ZnO particles were physically bigger than TiO2 particles. In addition, TiO2 increased thermal stability of PET/PBS blends. The addition of TiO2 and ZnO would not significantly increase tensile strength, young's modulus and percentage elongation at break. In term of antibacterial activity, PET/PBS blend thin film with TiO2 was more active against both E.coli and S.aureus than the one with ZnO.