Effect of ZnO Nanoparticles on the Physical Properties of PLA/PBS Biocomposite Films

Petroleum-based polymers have significantly problems to the environment due to it cannot degrade in the nature. Biopolymer become to interesting materials for replacing these materials for overcome these disadvantages. Here, we intend to study the biocomposite films of polylactic acid (PLA) blend polybutylene succinate (PBS) composited with ZnO nanoparticles. The chemical reaction and the water absorbency of biocomposite films were investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy and swelling ratio, respectively. The FT-IR results showed that the biocomposite films did not have any chemical reactions between polymers chains and ZnO nanoparticles. The swelling ratio of biocomposite films have proportionally with the contact time. The photocatalytic activity of biocomposite film was investigated by the methylene blue degradation in the aqueous solution. It was found that the efficacy of photocatalytic activity increased with increases in the contact time.