Ablation of Polypropylene for Breathable Packaging Films

A Polypropylene (PP) film was ablated using a femtosecond laser with a center wavelength of 785 nm, a pulse width of 184 fs and a repetition rate of 1 kHz. Increments of both pulse energy and the shot number of pulses lead to co-occurrence of photochemical and thermal effect, demonstrated by the spatial expansion of rim on the surface of PP. The shapes of the laser-ablated PP films were imaged by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and measured a 3D optical measurement system (NanoFocus). And, the oxygen transmission rate (ORT) of periodically laser-ablated PP film were characterized by oxygen permeability tester for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of fresh fruit and vegetable. Our results demonstrate that femtosecond pulsed laser is efficient tools for breathable packaging films in modifying the flow of air and gas into and out of a fresh produce container, where the micropatterns are specifically tailored in size, location and number which are easily controlled by laser pulse energy and pulse patterning system.