One of the most promising applications of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is food packaging. However, PLLA has a poorer gas barrier property than ordinary food packaging polymers. An improvement of the water-vapor barrier property is therefore required. In this study, low temperature plasma treatment on a stretched PLLA film in the presence of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) was carried out in order to improve its water-vapor barrier property. The flux of watervapor permeation through a stretched PLLA film treated with low temperature plasma in the presence of TMOS was decreased to 60% of an untreated stretched PLLA. The effects of plasma treatment parameters on the water-vapor permeability were investigated.
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