Effects of Concentration of ZnO Nanoparticles on Mechanical, Optical, Thermal, and Antimicrobial Properties of Gelatin/ZnO Nanocomposite Films

This study illustrates the synthesis of gelatin based zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnONPs) incorporated nanocomposite films using different concentrations of ZnONPs. The ZnONPs were oval in shape and the size ranged from 100- 200 nm. The nanocomposite films were characterized by UV-visible, FE-SEM, FT-IR, and XRD. The concentrations of ZnONPs greatly influenced the properties of nanocomposite films. The absorption peaks around 360 nm increased with the increasing concentrations of ZnONPs. The surface color of film did not change while transmittance at 280 nm was greatly reduced with increase in the concentration of ZnONPs. FTIR spectra showed the interaction of ZnONPs with gelatin. XRD data demonstrated the crystalline nature of ZnONPs. The thermostability, char content, water contact angle, water vapor permeability, moisture content, and elongation at break of nanocomposite films increased, whereas, tensile strength and modulus decreased with increase in the concentrations of ZnONPs. The gelatin/ZnONPs nanocomposite films showed profound antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative food-borne pathogenic bacteria. The gelatin/$ZnONP^{1.5}$ nanocomposite film showed the best UV barrier and antimicrobial properties among the tested-films, which indicated a high potential for use as an active food packaging films with environmentally-friendly nature.