A study of the biophysical properties of polystyrene films incorporated with clove oil as bio-based plasticizer.

Abstract

. Polystyrene based films loaded with different concentrations of clove oil (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 wt.%) were prepared using solution casting technique. The properties of the novel composites are characterized using dielectric spectroscopy (DS), attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD),UV absorption spectra, contact angle measurements, mechanical analysis, in addition to test the anti-bacterial effect of the composites against two strains of microorganisms: Escherichia coli(gram-negative bacteria) and Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive bacteria). According to dielectric study, by increasing the CLO content both The permittivity \uf065 , dielectric loss \uf065 and the electrical conductivity \uf073 increases. The contact angle measurements indicate that, the PS-CLO films demonstrate hydrophilic behavior compared to the pure PS. Tensile strength \uf073R values decreased by increasing CLO content and elongation at break \uf065R values were found to be increased. The increase in \uf065R may be due to the softening effect of CLO. The incorporation of the clove oil improved the light transmittance of the films. PS-CLO 40% sample have antibacterial activity against both E. coli and S. aureus.