Effects of nano-ZnO and nano-SiO2 particles on properties of PVA/xylan composite films

Abstract The effects of nano-ZnO and nano-SiO 2 on the properties of PVA/xylan composite films were investigated in this work. Results showed that nano-ZnO and nano-SiO 2 could effectively improve the mechanical strength, moisture and oxygen barrier properties and surface hydrophobic property of the composite films. The results of FTIR and XRD indicated the interaction of hydrogen bonds between nanoparticles and PVA and xylan. When the contents of nano-ZnO and nano-SiO 2 in the composite films were 3%, the tensile strength was increased to 20.4 MPa and 22.5 MPa, respectively, while water vapor permeability (3.14 and 3.03 × 10 −11  g·m −1 ·s −1 ·Pa −1 ) and oxygen permeability (5.28 and 5.003 cm 3 ·m −2 ·24 h −1 ·0.1 MPa −1 ) reached the minima. With the increase of nano-ZnO and nano-SiO 2 dosage, the solubility of composite films was increased. When the contents of nano-ZnO and nano-SiO 2 were 3% and 4%, respectively, the contact angles of the films was increased up to 101° and 78°. Besides, the composite films with nano-ZnO exhibited UV shielding performance, whereas the ones with nano-SiO 2 had similar UV light-transparency to the pure PVA/xylan composite films.