Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Chitosan–Graft–Poly(dimethylsiloxane)/Zein Coatings for the Fabrication of Environmentally Friendly Oil- and Water-Resistant Paper

Researchers developed a sustainable paper coating using chitosan-graft-poly(dimethylsiloxane) and zein biopolymers that provides oil and water resistance, offering a biodegradable alternative to conventional synthetic polymer coatings that contribute to microplastic pollution. The approach demonstrates a practical strategy for reducing plastic waste in paper packaging applications.

2020 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 89 citations
Article Tier 2

Fabrication of oil‐ and water‐resistant paper without creating microplastics on disposal

Researchers developed a plastic-free, biodegradable paper coating made from chitosan and sunflower oil that provides oil and water resistance. Unlike conventional coatings, this material does not shed microplastics when disposed of, offering a promising sustainable alternative for food packaging.

2020 Journal of Applied Polymer Science 29 citations
Article Tier 2

New alternatives to single‐use plastics: Starch and chitosan‐graft‐polydimethylsiloxane‐coated paper for water‐ and oil‐resistant applications

Researchers developed a fluorine-free, bio-based paper coating using starch and chitosan grafted with polydimethylsiloxane, achieving water- and oil-resistance comparable to conventional fluorochemical coatings while remaining biodegradable and compostable.

2021 Nano Select 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Fabrication of water/oil-resistant paper by nanocellulose stabilized Pickering emulsion and chitosan

Researchers developed a plastic-free, biodegradable water- and oil-resistant paper coating using cellulose nanofibrils and chitosan in a Pickering emulsion system. The coating provided excellent barrier properties against water and oil while maintaining paper recyclability and compostability. The study offers a promising alternative to conventional plastic-based food packaging coatings that contribute to microplastic pollution.

2024 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 17 citations
Article Tier 2

High Barrier Sustainable Paper Coating Based on Engineered Polysaccharides and Natural Rubber

Researchers developed a paper-based food packaging coating using engineered polysaccharides and natural rubber that provides barrier performance approaching that of plastic films while being biodegradable and avoiding microplastic formation. The coating maintained oxygen and moisture barrier properties under stress conditions relevant to food shelf life.

2022 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Oil‐ and water‐resistant paper substrate using blends of chitosan‐graft‐polydimethylsiloxane and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Researchers developed a plastic- and fluorine-free coating approach for oil and water repellent paper substrates using blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) and chitosan-graft-polydimethylsiloxane copolymer, offering an economical alternative to conventional coatings that contribute to microplastic contamination.

2021 Journal of Applied Polymer Science 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-based materials for barrier coatings on paper packaging

Researchers reviewed bio-based polymer coatings for paper packaging, evaluating how naturally renewable biopolymers can replace petroleum-derived synthetic coatings to provide effective oxygen, oil, and moisture barriers while reducing environmental impact.

2022 Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery 140 citations
Article Tier 2

High-Performance Synthetic Waxes for a Sustainable Packaging Ecosystem

This study evaluated high-performance synthetic waxes as coating materials for sustainable packaging, examining their barrier properties, biodegradability, and performance relative to conventional plastic-based coatings.

2024 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Recyclable and Biodegradable Paper Coating with Functionalized PLA and PBAT

Researchers developed recyclable and industrially compostable paper coatings using functionalized polylactic acid and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blends as alternatives to conventional polyester coatings. The coated paper demonstrated effective water and oil repellency, barrier properties, and mechanical performance while being fully repulpable and recyclable. Notably, the coating is free of PFAS and persistent microplastics, offering a circular economy solution for food packaging.

2025 ACS Omega 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Boric acid-crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol): biodegradable, biocompatible, robust, and high-barrier paper coating

Researchers developed a paper coating using polyvinyl alcohol crosslinked with boric acid that significantly improves the paper's barrier properties and mechanical strength. The study found that this coating remains fully biodegradable and biocompatible despite its enhanced performance. The findings suggest a practical, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional plastic-based packaging coatings.

2024 Green Chemistry 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Wax Coatings for Paper Packaging Applications: Study of the Coating Effect on Surface, Mechanical, and Barrier Properties

Researchers evaluated environmentally friendly wax coatings, including beeswax, soywax, and biowax, for paper food packaging applications. The study found that beeswax-coated paper showed the best performance, improving water vapor barrier properties by approximately 77% and increasing tensile strength, offering a sustainable alternative to plastic-based food packaging materials.

2024 ACS Environmental Au 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Cellulose nanofibers/polyvinyl alcohol blends as an efficient coating to improve the hydrophobic and oleophobic properties of paper

Researchers developed a paper coating made from cellulose nanofibers and polyvinyl alcohol and found it significantly improved paper's resistance to both water and grease while also increasing tensile strength, offering a potentially more sustainable alternative to the plastic-based coatings currently used in food packaging.

2022 Scientific Reports 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Moving Toward Paperization of Packaging Industry: Use of Laponite and Montmorillonite Nanoclays for Recyclable and Biodegradable High-Barrier Paper

Researchers developed a biodegradable paper coating using polyvinyl alcohol and nanoclays (laponite and montmorillonite) that achieves oxygen barrier performance nine times better than PET plastic film. This work is directly relevant to microplastic pollution because replacing conventional plastic packaging with biodegradable, non-microplastic-forming alternatives is a key strategy for reducing environmental plastic loads.

2026 ACS Omega
Article Tier 2

Bio-Based Monoepoxy-TerminatedPolysiloxane-ModifiedCoating for Hydrophobic and Oil-Resistant Paper

Researchers developed a bio-based coating material by grafting monoepoxy-terminated polysiloxane onto chitosan and cellulose nanofibers via a one-pot method, producing films with tunable hydrophobic and oil-resistant properties for sustainable packaging paper as an alternative to nondegradable plastic coatings.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Preparation and Characterization of Degradable Cellulose−Based Paper with Superhydrophobic, Antibacterial, and Barrier Properties for Food Packaging

Researchers prepared food packaging paper coated with polylactic acid and cinnamaldehyde as a barrier layer and nano silica-modified stearic acid as a superhydrophobic outer layer, creating a cellulose-based alternative to plastic packaging. The resulting material showed excellent water resistance, thermal stability, and antimicrobial activity while being made from renewable and biodegradable components.

2022 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic-Free Bioactive Paper Coatings, Way to Next-Generation Sustainable Paper Packaging Application: A Review

This review examines bio-derived paper coatings as plastic-free alternatives for sustainable packaging, synthesizing developments in biopolymer coatings sourced from biomass that can replace petroleum-derived polymers while meeting functional performance requirements for food and medical applications.

2022 Green and Sustainable Chemistry 18 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Review of Biodegradable Polymer-Based Films and Coatings and Their Food Packaging Applications

This review covers the development of biodegradable polymer-based films and coatings as alternatives to conventional plastic food packaging. While these bio-based materials reduce long-term environmental pollution, the review notes that they can still break down into microplastic particles under certain conditions. The shift to biodegradable packaging may reduce but not eliminate the food packaging contribution to microplastic pollution and human exposure.

2022 Materials 221 citations
Article Tier 2

A Fully Plant-Based Water- and Oil-Resistant Paper Composite

Researchers developed a fully plant-based paper composite coated with lignin as a water- and oil-resistant alternative to plastic-coated or PFAS-treated food packaging. Optimized hot-pressing conditions produced a coating that resisted water for 100 minutes and oil for 25 minutes, and the material fully biodegraded in garden soil within 56 days.

2024 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-Based Dual-Layer UV-Cured Oil- and Water-Resistant Paper Coating for Food Packaging Applications

Despite its title referencing bio-based paper coatings for food packaging, this paper studies how chitosan and plant-oil-derived coatings can replace fluorine-based chemicals on paper food packaging to resist water and oil — not microplastic pollution. It examines barrier performance and mechanical strength and is not relevant to microplastics or human health.

2026 International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Article Tier 2

Material properties and water resistance of inorganic–organic polymer coated cellulose paper and nanopaper

Researchers developed and characterised ORMOCER-coated cellulose paper and nanopaper as biodegradable, plastic-free alternatives for agricultural and packaging applications, finding that the inorganic-organic polymer coatings significantly improved water resistance while retaining the renewable and lightweight properties of the cellulose substrates.

2022 Cellulose 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanocellulose Coating on Kraft Paper

This paper is not directly about microplastics — it evaluates nanofibrillated cellulose coatings on kraft paper as a biodegradable alternative to plastic-based food packaging coatings, finding improvements in barrier properties, density, and mechanical strength.

2023 Coatings 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Packaging with Waterborne Acrylated Epoxidized Soybean Oil

Researchers developed a sustainable packaging material by coating kraft paper with waterborne acrylated epoxidized soybean oil. The study found that the coated paper demonstrated good water and oil resistance, compatibility with printing processes, and reached over 90% biodegradability within 90 days, offering a promising alternative to conventional plastic packaging.

2024 ACS Sustainable Resource Management 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Controlled surface acetylation of cellulosics to tune biodegradability while expanding their use towards common petrochemical-based plastics

Not relevant to microplastics — this study demonstrates surface acetylation of cellulose paper fibers to improve wet strength and moisture resistance while maintaining biodegradability, positioned as an alternative to petrochemical plastics.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Technoeconomic Analysis for Biodegradable and Recyclable Paper Coated with Synthetic Ionic PBAT for Packaging Application

This study presents a technoeconomic analysis of a biodegradable and recyclable paper coating made from ionic PBAT polymer as a sustainable alternative to polyethylene-coated paper. Researchers found that with production optimization, the coated paper could reach price points competitive with conventional polyethylene-coated packaging while offering the advantages of biodegradability and recyclability.

2024 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 11 citations