Preparation of polyurushiol (PUOH) using urushiol and property of LDPE/PUOH composite films

Urushiol extracted from lacquer tree exhibits good thermal stabilities as well as antimicrobial andantioxidant properties. However, it has been known that the urushiol derivates bring out allergy. In this study, polyurushiol (PUOH) powders were successfully synthesized for the safe and convenient handling of allergic urushiol. First, the as-synthesized PUOH was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), antioxidant test and antimicrobial test. And then, six different LDPE/PUOH composite films were prepared via a twin screw extruder system and investigated their feasibility to use as active packaging materials. Their chemical structures, morphology, thermal optical and antimicrobial properties of the LDPE/PUOH composite films were investigated as a function of PUOH contents. FTIR and SEM results showed that LDPE/PUOH composite films have a weak interfacial interaction and poor dispersion with a high PUOH loading. The thermal properties increased up to 3 wt% as the content of PUOH increases. Compared to the pure LDPE films, LDPE/PUOH composite films are more effective in the UV absorbance and antibacterial activity against E. coli. To maximize the performance of LDPE/PUOH compositefilms as the packaging materials, further researches are required to enhance the dispersion of PUOH powders in the LDPE matrix.