Synthesis of hybrid carrageenan-gelatin film incorporated with different concentration of titanium dioxide (tio₂) as food packaging / Nurul Anisha Bt Hamidi

Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology

Final Year Report (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering ) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2025

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The increasing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly packaging has led to the development of biodegradable materials from natural polymers. Hybrid films of carrageenan-gelatin incorporated with nanoparticles of TiO₂ were synthesized, aiming at improving mechanical, physical, and optical properties of the films for food packaging applications. Conventional plastic packaging poses environmental challenges; hence, this motivates the need for biodegradable alternatives with improved functional properties.The objective of this work was to develop a hybrid carrageenan-gelatin-TiO₂ film and investigate its potential use as an eco-friendly food packaging material. Films containing different concentrations of TiO₂ (1%, 3%, 5%, and 7%) were prepared by the solution casting method and characterized for tensile strength, elongation at break, moisture content, solubility, opacity, and surface morphology. Results indicated that TiO₂ significantly enhanced tensile strength and elongation at break of the films, at their optimum at 5% TiO₂ concentration. Incorporation of TiO₂ enhanced water resistance by reducing moisture content and solubility. In addition, TiO₂ increased the opacity of the films, a highly desirable property for UV protection due to its light-scattering properties. According to SEM analysis, nanoparticles were well dispersed at 5%, while higher nanoparticle concentrations resulted in their agglomeration, deteriorating mechanical and optical properties. Conclusively, the hybrid carrageenan-gelatin-TiO₂ films have immense potential for use as biodegradable alternatives to plastic packaging, affording greater protection to food and minimizing the environmental impact. Further efforts must be dedicated to optimizing the technique of dispersion to prevent the agglomeration of TiO₂ at high concentrations, carrying out an environmental impact assessment, and studying the scalability of production. These recommendations would hence give the industrial application of hybrid films to answer modern needs in food packaging in a proper way.