Poly(lactic acid)/graphene oxide-ZnO nanocomposite films with good mechanical, dynamic mechanical, anti-UV and antibacterial properties

Abstract

BACKGROUND The biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has been used for a wide range of applications such as food packaging, household engineering, drug delivery and tissue engineering because of increasingly serious environmental pollution and declining petroleum resources. The incorporation of nanofillers into PLA matrix offers the opportunity to develop nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical, dynamic mechanical, anti-UV and antibacterial properties. RESULTS Graphene oxide loaded with ZnO nanoparticles (GO–ZnO) was prepared and mixed with PLA by a solution-blending method. Tensile tests show that the prepared PLA/GO–ZnO nanocomposite films have increased tensile strength compared with the unreinforced PLA film. The results from dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) exhibit a significant enhancement in storage modulus and glass transition temperature (Tg) of the nanocomposite film. In addition, UV-visible spectra and antibacterial testing results show that the prepared nanocomposite films exhibit strong ultraviolet resistance and antimicrobial ability at very low GO–ZnO loading. CONCLUSION The results demonstrate that these novel nanocomposite films with multiple properties (mechanical, dynamic mechanical, anti-UV and antibacterial) could be a good candidate material for antimicrobial packaging or anti-UV areas. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry