Work

Eggshell-inspired heterogeneous bilayer paper window with selective gas permeability for preserving fresh produce

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: To prevent the increasing waste of fresh produce, low-cost, easy-to-manufacture, and sustainable preservation packaging is required. Here, inspired by an “eggshell” that protects the life inside, a novel and simple packaging named “paper window” is developed for fresh produce preservation. It employs nanochitin/poly (ethylene glycol) as the “inner membrane”, coating on a base paper surface, with the base paper serving as the “outer shell”, to regulate O2 and CO2 permeability and CO2/O2 selective permeability. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that paper window exhibits a stabilized bilayer structure with negative surface interaction energy. It also confirms that the nanochitin/poly (ethylene glycol) coating forms a stronger interaction and adsorption ability for CO2 than O2, resulting in a CO2/O2 selective permeability of 1.65–3.71 with gas permeability of 2000–14000 cm3‧m−2‧d−1‧0.1 MPa−1. The mechanical characteristics, water vapor permeability, and water contact angle of paper window facilitates its usage, transportation, and storage. The paper window is validated in preserving litchi, demonstrating better sensory value and chemical properties preservation compared to those stored in air or in polyethylene at 25 ± 3 °C for 8 d. Paper window displays promising potential for large-scale production and application in the preservation of various fresh produce.

Source: Chemical Engineering Journal

DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2025.162407