Abstract
Abstract Hybrid materials, formed by the incorporation of a reduced graphene oxide-zinc oxide (rGO-ZnO) composite at 3, 6 and 9 mass% contents, into glycerol-plasticized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), were prepared by melt extrusion. The rGO-ZnO composite was synthesized by the simultaneous reduction of zinc diacetate and GO, at 20:1 ratio, and characterized. Changes in the infrared spectra, X-ray diffractograms and Raman spectra, obtained for the hybrids in comparison to PHBV, evidenced the formation of physical interactions between matrix and filler. The opposite effects exerted by the addition of plasticizer and rGO-ZnO contributed to slight variations in dynamic glass transition temperature. Bactericidal activity was found against Escherichia coli as a result of direct contact between bacteria cells and the hybrids surface. Migration tests to food simulants, with the exception of acetic acid solution, revealed that the amount of ZnO that migrated were bellow the upper level recommended for Zn2+.
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