Scientists have developed a material that could be used as a transparent coating to enhance plastic food packaging. The nano-brick is a film that resembles a brick and mortar under a microscope.
The coating could ensure that foods and beverages stay fresh and replace foil packaging. The eco-friendly material was unveiled at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
The technology offers the preservation properties of glass, according to Jaime Grunlan, who authored the research paper. The film integrates mont-morillonite clay particles with multiple polymer materials. The resulting film is almost 70% clay and has a small portion of polymer. The eco-friendly film measures less than 100nm in thickness and is visible to the naked eye.
An electron microscope makes the film resemble bricks and mortar, according to Grunlan, an associate professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Texas A&M University. When arranged in layers on an existing plastic packaging it delivers a strengthened barrier to oxygen.
The coating can also be utilized in flexible electronics, scratch-resistant surfaces, tires, and sporting equipment. It could prevent basketballs and footballs from getting deflated.
Source: http://www.tamu.edu/