Plastic packaging is a very important application that significantly contributes to our daily life. Nylon films are widely used as packaging materials due to their high strength and good puncture or scratch resistance even at sub-zero temperatures. The nylon films would usually be laminated with polyethylene in order to improve the heat-seal properties. However, it is still common to find damaged packaging especially at the boundary between the heat-sealed and non-heat-sealed parts even though these plastic films are made from multi-layers. Therefore it is important to characterize the mechanical properties of the boundary part, especially the effect of heat-seal temperature. In this study, mechanical properties at the boundary part of nylon films were evaluated by using semi-circular tensile test method. It was found that the tensile strength at the boundary part decreased about 23 % as compared to the heat-sealed region.

View full abstract

We had already reported silica/starch organic-inorganic hybrid biodegradable materials. In this paper, the materials were plasticized by sorbitol, and for comparison, the materials plasticized by glycerol were also prepared. With the increase in plasticizer content, the dispersion of starch in the materials was improved. Additionally, it is found that the dispersion of starch influenced the mechanical properties of the materials. Compared with the materials plasticized by glycerol, the materials plasticized by sorbitol possessed the characteristics of good mechanical properties and heat resistance. It is thought to be due to molecular structures of sorbitol and glycerol, because plasticizers formed interactions with starch.

View full abstract