Water-Resistant Poly(vinyl alcohol)/ZnO Nanopillar\nComposite Films for Antibacterial Packaging

To solve the problems\nthat poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) easily breeds\nbacteria and swells in a humid environment, PVA and ZnO nanopillar\n(ZnO NP) components were composed to generate PVA/ZnO NP composite\nfilms via a simple combination process of blending and heat treatment\nin this study. Here, ZnO NPs endowed composite films with good antibacterial\nproperties, and the etherification and dehydration of hydroxyl groups\nbetween PVA molecular chains induced by heat treatment resulted in\nthe composite films having excellent water-swelling resistance. Most\nimportantly, PVA/ZnO NP composite films revealed excellent tensile\nstrength in both humid (52.85 MPa) and dry (74.63 MPa) environments.\nIn addition, PVA/ZnO NP composite films showed good antibacterial\nand antisepsis abilities as well as preservation functions in the\npackaging test of half-cut apples. The current work disclosed an easy\nstrategy for producing a PVA-based antibacterial film for packaging\nmaterials that are water-resistant and highly strong, making them\nsuitable for applications in humid environments.