Effect of Drying Temperature on Microstructure and Physicochemical Properties of Konjac Glucomannan/Zein Nanoparticles Blend Films

In this paper, konjac glucomannan (KGM) and zein nanoparticles (NZ) were used as film-forming substrates, and the KGM/NZ blend films (KNZ) were prepared by solution casting. The microstructure, thermal, mechanical, hydrophobic and barrier properties of KNZ were investigated at different drying temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 ℃). The results showed that when dried at 40, 50, 60 ℃, KGM and NZ had good compatibility and NZ was uniformly dispersed in KGM matrix, the microstructure of KNZ was denser and its mechanical and hydrophobic properties were enhanced significantly (P<0.05). When the drying temperature was 40 ℃, KNZ showed the best performance, such as the highest thermal decomposition temperature (334.6 ℃) and tensile strength (79.27 MPa), the smallest solubility (19.99%) and water vapor permeability (7.641×10⁻¹³ g·cm/(cm²·s·Pa)). The information obtained would provide a reference for the development and application of KNZ as a packaging material.