Active packaging materials protect food from deterioration and extend its shelf life. In the quest to design intriguing packaging materials, biocomposite ZnO/plant polyphenols/cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol (ZnPCP) was prepared via simple hydrothermal and casting methods. The structure and morphology of the composite were fully analyzed using XRD, FTIR, SEM and XPS. The ZnO particles, plant polyphenols (PPL) and cellulose were found to be dispersed in PVA. All of these components share their unique functions with the composite's properties. This study shows that PPL in the composite not only improves the ZnO dispersivity in PVA as a crosslinker, but also enhances the water barrier of PVA. The ZnO, PPL and cellulose work together, enabling the biocomposite to perform as a good food packaging material with only a 1% dosage of the three components in PVA. The light shielding investigation showed that ZnPCP-10 can block almost 100% of both UV and visible light. The antibacterial activities were evaluated by Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), with 4.4 and 6.3 mm inhibition zones, respectively, being achieved by ZnPCP-10. The enhanced performance and easy degradation enables the biocomposite ZnPCP to be a prospect material in the packaging industry.
Keywords: PVA film; UV shielding; antibacterial activity; cellulose; plant polyphenol; zinc oxide.