Effects of Cold Plasma and Nano-zinc Oxide on Modification of Corn Starch as a Food Packaging Material

This study explores the effects of cold plasma (CP) treatment on eco-friendly starch/ZnO (SZ) bio-nanocomposite films, incorporating 3 wt% nano-ZnO (ZnO NPs) and varying CP exposure times (0, 30, 60, 90 s). The results indicate that prolonged CP treatment increases film thickness, viscosity, water solubility, moisture absorption, and surface roughness, while reducing contact angle and moisture content. No significant changes were observed in water vapor permeability, density, or UV-Vis properties. CP treatment enhanced tensile strength, elongation at break, and tensile energy to break, while decreasing lightness and whiteness indices without altering color difference. The study highlights CP as a rapid, eco-friendly method for modifying films, with greater efficacy when applied to aqueous starch solutions, offering potential for industrial-scale applications in packaging materials.