Electrospinning of tri-acetyl-β-cyclodextrin (TA-β-CD) functionalized low-density polyethylene to minimize sulfur odor volatile compounds

The study explored a new odor control method using Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and Triacetyl- β-cyclodextrin (TA-β-CD) functionalized fiber mat. The odor control system was prepared using an electrospinning process. Based on the image obtained from a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the fiber diameter of the pure LDPE and TA-β-CD loaded LDPE fibers were found about 1.31–4.92 μm, depending on the TA-β-CD concentration. The presence of TA-β-CD in the fibered film mat was verified using FTIR. Hydrophobicity of the fiber mat was measured by water contact angle (WCA). The result indicates a slight inverse relationship between WCA and TA-β-CD concentration after 5% loading. Finally, the odors absorbing effectiveness of this system was examined using GC–MS. Three target sulfur odor compounds, including dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and carbon disulfide (CDS), were effectively removed using the TA-β-CD functionalized LDPE fiber mat. Especially, the reduction of DMDS was up to 90.33%. The result suggested that tailoring electrospun LDPE and TA-β-CD fiber mat has a strong potential to be used as an active packaging material to develop the off-odor removal system for food or healthcare packaging application.