Bio-based carboxymethyl cellulose film from agricultural waste incorporating β-cyclodextrin-Cu MOFs for ethylene adsorption and delayed fruit ripening
摘要
Biopolymer-based materials derived from agricultural waste offer sustainable and functional alternatives for material development. Cellulose was extracted from palm kernel shells via alkaline treatment and delignification, yielding 30.10% cellulose. The extracted cellulose was used to synthesize carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), achieving a maximum degree of substitution of 0.73 and a yield of 79.73% with 4 g of monochloroacetic acid. The CMC films were then modified using citric acid as a crosslinking agent, glycerol as a plasticizer, and the freeze–thaw (FT) method, resulting in improved mechanical flexibility (elongation at break increased from 42.00 ± 6.88% to 45.00 ± 5.32%) and reduced water vapor permeability (from 2.13 ± 0.08 to 1.70 ± 0.15 × 10⁻10 g·m⁻1·s⁻1·Pa⁻1), indicating enhanced film compactness. MOFs serve as effective adsorbents, with bio-MOFs offering the additional advantage of biocompatibility. Among the composite films, β-CD-Cu@CMC exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and maintained its effectiveness for several days. Furthermore, β-CD-Cu@CMC demonstrated effective ethylene adsorption, reducing the residual ethylene from 30 to 26.27% within 120 min, and significantly delaying banana ripening. These findings highlight the multifunctional potential of the β-CD-Cu@CMC films for sustainable packaging applications. β-CD-Cu has significant potential as a biocompatible and effective material for ethylene adsorption, with opportunities for further advancement through targeted modification.