THESIS - ROC CH ... - FINAL - resubmission.pdf - University of Guelph

7.0 EXPLORATORY WORK WITH TIO 2 NANOPARTICLES AND SPI/FIBER BLEND
FILMS
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, titanium dioxide is a safe
and inexpensive additive commonly found in a wide array of products including paints, plastics,
papers, food, cosmetics, solar cells, electronics, etc. (Feng et al. 2007; Fujishima 2000; Li et al.
2010; Zhou et al. 2009). From the papermaking industry, cellulose/TiO2 hybrid fibers have been
explored to enhance brightness and have shown to have bactericidal properties (Daoud et al.
2005; Marques et al. 2006; Siffert and Metzger 1991). Applications in edible films have also
been shown to provide antimicrobial protection, increase strength, and decrease water vapour
transmission (Chaurasia et al. 2010; Li et al. 2010; Zhou et al. 2009). The use of TiO2 for
packaging can also benefit from its oxygen scavenging abilities (Xiao-e et al. 2004). In addition,
titanate particles have been suggested for use as coupling agents with mild improvements for
injection molded soy/cellulose blends (Ralston 2008). However, there have been no attempts to
investigate the incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles into SPI film for use with extrusion. There
also have been no reports of the effects of using TiO 2 particles as a coupling agent for
SPI/Cellulose blend films. To further increase material properties of the extruded SPI base films,
this study will investigate the effects of incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles along with its coupling
effects on SPI/cellulose blend films.
7.2 MATERIALS
Soy protein Isolate (SUPRO 760) as obtained from Section 4.2 was used for extrusion.
Extracted soy microfibers as carried out in Section 5.0 were used as reinforcing fibers. Glycerol
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