Fabrication and evaluation of melamine-formaldehyde resin crosslinked PVA composite coating membranes with enhanced oxygen barrier properties for food packaging

Since PVA membrane is of limited use for food packaging applications in moist conditions, polyvinyl alcohol/melamine-formaldehyde resin (PVA/MF) composite coating membranes with various contents of MF were fabricated by a chemical crosslinking method to reduce the sensitivity of PVA to moisture. The morphology, chemical structure, thermal and mechanical properties of the resultant PVA/MF composite coating membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR spectrometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and universal testing machine. In addition, their hazes and OTRs were also measured as a function of MF content. Experimental results showed that –OH in the molecular chain of MF and PVA could be crosslinked at room temperature to form a dense polymeric structure, resulting in the increase in viscosity and the decline in water absorption. The incorporation of MF into PVA gave rise to the enhancement of crosslinking through the C–O–C bonding and strong interface interaction between MF and PVA that was beneficial to improving its thermal stability, mechanical properties and barrier properties. Furthermore, the PVA/MF composite coating membranes exhibited superior transparency due to their good leveling and wettability on both BOPET and PLA substrates. The moisture resistance and barrier properties of the MF/PVA composite coated BOPET and PLA membranes under high humidity conditions have been greatly improved, and the oxygen transmission rates (OTRs) under 75% RH could still remain at about 1.0 cm(3) per m(2) per day. These characteristics of the PVA/MF composite coating membranes have made them exhibit widespread application prospects for coating membranes in the food packaging field.