Fabrication of anti-bacterial, hydrophobic and UV resistant galactomannan-zinc oxide nanocomposite films

Abstract The use of organic and inorganic materials to prepare membrane materials with functional performance has attracted much attention in recent years. In this paper, galactomannan (GM) is used as raw material and nano zinc oxide (nano-ZnO) is used as functional modifier to prepare GM based food packaging films. The properties influence for films of different nano-ZnO content were studied. The obtained nano-ZnO/GM composite films showed superior hydrophobicity and almost absorbing all UVA and UVB. The tensile strength of composite film was superior to plastic HDPE film, and the oxygen barrier properties of composite films were better than PVC plastic film. The composite films against E. coli and B. subtilis showed great antibacterial properties. The antibacterial effect was demonstrated by Shine-Muscat grapes after storage for 5 days. The final prepared GM based functional food packaging film provides a foundation for the potentials for futural plastic packaging alternatives.