High strength cellulose/ATT composite films with good oxygen barrier property for sustainable packaging applications

High strength regenerated cellulose/attapulgite (ATT) composite films (RC/ATT) with good oxygen barrier performance were prepared from cellulose/LiOH/urea solutions with different ATT contents ranging from 5 to 20 wt%. The synthesized RC/ATT films were characterized using UV–vis, XRD, scanning electron microscopy, TGA and mechanical testing. The results revealed the homogeneous distribution of ATT in the cellulose matrix. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the RC film were significantly improved from 86.9 MPa and 4.3 GPa to reach 127 MPa and 5 GPa as a result of the 5 wt% ATT reinforcement, respectively. The incorporation of ATT into the cellulose matrix could improve the thermal stability and water resistance of the RC film. Besides, the RC/ATT composite films exhibited relative low oxygen permeability below 0.5 cm³ μm/day m² kPa, which could even reach 0.32 cm³ μm/day m² kPa with 20 wt% ATT content. This work not only provided novel RC/ATT films as potential sustainable barrier packaging materials, but also shed light on the fabrication of other biopolymers based barrier packaging materials.