Cellulose-Derived Excitation Wavelength-Dependent Ultrastrong and Smart Films for Smart Packaging Applications

Formulating sustainable and biodegradable smart materials from natural resources is unavoidable to replace plastic-based packaging materials, which are lethal to our environment. In this study, a simple technology is presented to successfully incorporate disperse red 60 (DR) having –NH 2 and –C═O groups into cellulose acetate to formulate large, scalable, strong, and smart films with great weight barrier properties using the solvent evaporation approach. Formulated filmstrips CA-DR with a thickness of 0.19 mm to 0.27 mm and a size of 1 cm × 7 cm can carry weights of up to 5.0 kg without any distortion. Interestingly, the films possess multiple wavelength-dependent excitation features and are excellent candidates for use in enhanced security packaging, replacing the software-generated tags and barcodes. Moreover, CA-DR films show an outstanding water vapor permeability of 4.039 × 10 –7 g.mm/m 2 ·day·kPa and an O 2 transmission rate of 8.34 × 10 –3 cm 3 × μm/m 2 ·day·KPa, respectively, which is much improved than the tested CA film. The films exhibit creditable excitation wavelength-dependent phenomena, fluorescence, and biodegradability, which impart them an impressive degradable electronics and smart packaging applications in the future to replace conventional plastic-based materials.