Bio-based (chitosan/PVA/ZnO) nanocomposites film: Thermally stable and photoluminescence material for removal of organic dye

Abstract Preparation of hitherto unreported chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/ZnO nanocomposites film (designated as CS/PVA/ZnO) as an efficient bio-based nanocomposites is carried out by a greener approach involving mixing, solution casting and solvent evaporation. Synthesized chitosan-based nanocomposites films are characterized by various analytical techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The photoluminescent properties of CS/PVA/ZnO films are thoroughly studied and compared with CS/PVA. The outcome suggested that the addition of ZnO nanoparticles increased the intensities and red shifting with respect to CS/PVA. The toxicity of chitosan-based nanocomposites films was examined by MTT assay using the NIH3T3 cells. The viability of chitosan-based nanocomposites films was found to be better than native chitosan and PVA films. Furthermore, the adsorption property of prepared chitosan-based nanocomposites films was tested for the removal of AB 1 dye.