The current packaging materials market is dominated by petrochemical-derived, single-use, and inexpensive plastics that are incredibly stable in the environment. After their sole use, only a small fraction is recycled, with the remaining ending up in landfills, incineration facilities, or littered in the environment threatening the health of our environment. Nature-derived, compostable, and biodegradable polymers are appealing alternatives to replace single-use plastics in packaging and coating applications. However, most sustainable polymer alternatives cannot compete with traditional plastics in key packaging property attributes, such as gas and moisture barrier properties. Thus, there is a dire need to design chemistries and processing technology to enhance the barrier properties of sustainable polymer systems. In this review, we conducted a critical and comprehensive summary of the important and impactful contributions on improving the gas and moisture barrier properties of sustainable polymer systems for packaging applications. The work highlights signature accomplishments on the effect of tuning the microstructure, surface energy, morphology, and self-assembly of polymers on the gas and moisture barrier properties of the resulting films and coatings. The recent developments in designing multiphase and multicomponent systems and the impact of nanotechnology on barrier properties of sustainable packaging plastics are emphasized.

当前的包装材料市场以石化衍生的、一次性的、廉价的塑料为主，这些塑料在环境中非常稳定。在单独使用后，只有一小部分被回收，其余的最终被填埋场、焚烧设施或乱扔在环境中，威胁着我们环境的健康。源自自然、可堆肥和可生物降解的聚合物是极具吸引力的替代品，可替代包装和涂层应用中的一次性塑料。然而，大多数可持续的聚合物替代品无法在关键的包装属性（例如气体和水分阻隔性能）方面与传统塑料竞争。因此，迫切需要设计化学和加工技术来增强可持续聚合物系统的阻隔性能。在这篇评论中，我们对改善包装应用的可持续聚合物系统的气体和水分阻隔性能的重要和有影响力的贡献进行了重要和全面的总结。这项工作突出了在调整聚合物的微观结构、表面能、形态和自组装对所得薄膜和涂层的气体和水分阻隔性能的影响方面的标志性成就。强调了多相和多组分系统设计的最新发展以及纳米技术对可持续包装塑料阻隔性能的影响。这项工作突出了在调整聚合物的微观结构、表面能、形态和自组装对所得薄膜和涂层的气体和水分阻隔性能的影响方面的标志性成就。强调了多相和多组分系统设计的最新发展以及纳米技术对可持续包装塑料阻隔性能的影响。这项工作突出了在调整聚合物的微观结构、表面能、形态和自组装对所得薄膜和涂层的气体和水分阻隔性能的影响方面的标志性成就。强调了多相和多组分系统设计的最新发展以及纳米技术对可持续包装塑料阻隔性能的影响。