Fabrication and Characterization of Tungsten-Mediated PHA/ <i>Colocasia esculenta</i> Starch Bioplastics for Sustainable Packaging Applications

The increasing environmental concerns with petroleum-based plastics have led to an increased pace in the development of biodegradable plastics based on renewable resources. This paper has developed a tungsten-mediated polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)-Colocasia esculenta (taro) starch bioplastic and its application in sustainable packaging. Their characteristics were structural, mechanical, barrier, biodegradation and antimicrobial. The bioplastic developed had tensile strength of [Formula: see text] Mpa which means that the bioplastic was of moderate mechanical strength and can be used in flexible film applications. Intermolecular interactions were confirmed by the FTIR analysis, as well as semi-crystalline structure, with SEM showing a relatively uniform morphology with a surface roughness (0.57 mm). The material was found to be biodegradable, with the water solubility (23.45) and moisture content (7.29) confirming these characteristics but moisture sensitivity was a limitation. Environmental degradation studies by biodegradation proved to be effective and antimicrobial activity was lower and not of the desired standard efficacy. All in all, it is shown in the material that the balance between structural integrity and biodegradability is achieved, which makes it suitable both in short-term and disposable packaging. More optimization is needed to provide improved mechanical strength and barrier performance.