Photocatalytic films with high ethylene degradation efficiency for strawberry preservation

The preservation of fruits has always been a research hotspot. In this research, titanium dioxide(TiO₂) exhibiting diffraction peaks characteristic of both anatase and rutile phases was synthesized. Subsequently, photocatalytic films loaded with the TiO₂ were fabricated using a twin-screw extruder combined with an extrusion casting technique. The films demonstrated a highest ethylene photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 88.57 %. The addition of TiO₂ significantly enhanced the hydrophilicity of the films, with a maximum increase of 8.08 %. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the films were also improved. The optical properties, barrier properties and mechanical properties revealed that the film may make contributions to slowing down light aging, reducing weight loss of strawberries and increasing the load-bearing property. Furthermore, fresh-keeping experiment proved that the photocatalytic films could markedly slow down the appearance change, reduce weight loss and TBARS accumulation while decelerating the decline of TSS and antioxidant capacity in strawberries.