Fabrication and characterization of biodegradable PHBV/SiO <sub>2</sub> nanocomposite for thermo‐mechanical and antibacterial applications in food packaging
Nupur Ojha, Nilanjana Das
Abstract
In the present study, biogenic silica nanoparticles (bSNPs) were synthesized from groundnut shells, and thoroughly characterized to understand its phase, and microstructure properties. The biopolymer was synthesized from yeast Wickerhamomyces anomalus and identified as Poly (3‐hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) by GC‐MS and NMR analysis. The bSNPs were reinforced to fabricate PHBV/SiO 2 nanocomposites via solution casting technique. The fabricated PHBV/SiO 2 nanocomposites revealed intercalated hybrid interaction between the bSNPs and PHBV matrix through XRD analysis. PHBV/SiO 2 nanocomposites showed significant improvement in physical, chemical, thermo‐mechanical and biodegradation properties as compared to the bare PHBV. The cell viability study revealed excellent biocompatibility against L929 mouse fibroblast cells. The antibacterial activity of PHBV/SiO 2 nanocomposites was found to be progressively improved upon increasing bSNPs concentration against E. coli and S. aureus .