Multifunctional palygorskite@ZnO nanorods enhance simultaneously mechanical strength and antibacterial properties of chitosan-based film.

A general and effective strategy was developed for improving simultaneously the mechanical strength and antibacterial performance of biopolymer-based films. The well-dispersed zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were in-situ loaded on non-toxic natural palygorskite (PAL) nanorod to form an antibacterial PAL@ZnO composite nanorod, which can be embedded into chitosan/gelatin (CS/GL) film to produce the composite films with noticeably enhanced mechanical properties and antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli bacteria (inhibition zones are 21.82 ± 0.95 mm and 16.36 ± 1.64 mm, respectively). The toughness of films enhances to 35.13 ± 0.95 MPa and the moisture uptake decreases to 23.74 ± 0.02% after embedding 3% and 9% of PAL@ZnO, respectively. In addition, incorporating PAL@ZnO nanorods also significantly enhanced the water resistance, and thermal stability of film. This work provides an alternative way for the development of antibacterial films with potential applications in many fields such as food packing.