Nanocolorants for Packaging Films

78823S The packaging industry, the country's third largest industry with sales over $100 billion annually, uses color to great advantage to influence consumer perceptions and purchasing decisions. Although clear, colored plastic packaging is highly desired by the packaging industry, it cannot be achieved by a single, inexpensive polymer layer. Unfortunately, those plastics that are easy to dye (like polyesters and polyamides) are also more expensive due to their energy-intensive manufacturing processes, while plastics that have much less imbedded energy (like polyolefins) are much more difficult to color. Currently clear, colored packaging films are prepared from multi-layer laminates that contain a thin, more expensive colored layer of polyester (for example) and a less expensive, structural layer that makes up the bulk package (like polyethylene). This project will develop technology for producing a clear, colored packaging film that is made from a single layer of a less expensive plastic, which would require less energy to produce, save on raw material costs, and decrease the fabrication costs. In Phase I, a new coloring system for polyethylene (PE) will be developed by forming a colored nanocomposite. Dispersible "nanocolorants" will be used to provide high permanence, thermal stability, and clarity with brilliance of color and good weatherability. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: A clear, colored PE nanocomposite would allow a single layer of inexpensive packaging material to replace the current laminates of PE and the far more energy intensive polyesters. The market for energy-intensive thermoplastic polyester films for packaging was 135 million pounds in 2003. The new colored nanocomposites also should exhibit high color permanence and lead to longer-lived products by reducing fading and color migration. Another application would include the use of nanocolorants in the formation of temperature control films that block infrared solar radiation ¿ such films could save energy costs related to the cooling interior spaces like buildings, greenhouses, and cars.