Oxygen barrier polylactic acid nanocomposite films and effect of gamma irradiation

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a bio-degradable polymer with great promise to replace the conventional packaging plastics. It is made from renewable resources and has desirabletransparency, printability and more importantly is an environmentally-friendly packaging material [1-2]. Its foodpackingapplication could be broadened by improving the gasbarrier properties using inert materials that should be safe for the food content and without harming the transparency andother useful properties of the neat polymer. The present work investigates a novel approach for improving the oxygenbarrierproperty of PLA-based film using vinyl acetate-vinyl alcohol copolymer [Poly(VAc-co-VA)] and the nanoclay Cloisite 30B. The permeability, morphology, thermal and mechanical properties are reported.