Tailored terpolymeric stabilizers for safe and long-lasting polyolefin food packaging

Polyolefins are largely used as food-contact materials due to their low cost and low reactivity. To inhibit or retard their thermo- and/or photo-oxidative degradation polyolefins are added with stabilizers. Such additives are relatively low molecular weight polar compounds as hindered phenols and amines, structurally unrelated with the apolar polyolefinic matrix. This causes poor stabilizer vs. polyolefin compatibility with stabilizers physical loss by migration, possible food contamination and reduced shelf life. Here novel terpolymeric additives bearing antioxidant phenolic functionalities covalently linked to the macromolecular chain were designed, prepared and tested as efficient non-releasing stabilizers for commercial polyolefin materials, such as low density polyethylene grades (LDPEs) and ethylene-norbornene copolymers, known as cyclic olefin copolymers (COCs).