Development of Eco‐Friendly Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)‐Cellulose‐Montmorillonite Clay Bio‐Composites Containing Plant Extracts for Paper‐Coating Applications

ABSTRACT A novel coating formulation has been made using cellulose (CEL) modified with montmorillonite clay (MMT), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and plant extracts obtained from banana bract (BB) and Saraca asoca (SA) leaf. The structural features of the composite‐coated papers were studied by FTIR, FESEM, TGA, and XRD techniques. The hydrophobic nature of the developed coated papers was confirmed by water solubility (WS), water vapor permeability (WVP), and water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The study demonstrated that paper coated with both PVACELMTBBE and PVACELMTSAE showed promising results, but the PVACELMTBBE composite‐coated paper exhibited an excellent balance of mechanical strength and water‐resistant properties, with a TS of 25.05 MPa, WS of 11.2%, WVP of 2.13 × 10 −7 g/m 2 ·s·Pa, and a WCA of 138.9°, demonstrating its higher potential for sustainable packaging applications. The coated papers were fabricated into carry bags, which were observed to exhibit significant load‐bearing capacity and water repellent nature. The results indicated that the coating of paper with the developed composite formulation transforms the ordinary paper into a biodegradable and water‐stable bag, which appears to be an eco‐friendly and sustainable alternative to commercially available petroleum‐based bags.