Fabrication of N-halamine/MWPPy-ZnO hybrids based cellulose nanofibril composite films with improved UV-protective, antibacterial, and biofilm control functions

The design and fabrication of synergistic hybrid antibacterial materials is a promising approach for achieving effective sterilization while compensating for the deficiency of a single component. Despite being highly effective biocidal components, the poor UV light stability of some N-halamines limits their applications. This study was conducted to address this issue by the rational integration of cyclic N-halamine precursor (PGHAPA) with microwaved zinc oxide (MWPPy-ZnO) nanoparticles via covalent bonds and the preparation of cellulose nanofibrils based antibacterial composite films after chlorination (CNF/MWPPy-ZnO-PGHAPA-Cl). The proposed films offered tight lamellar structure, considerable thermal stability and better mechanical properties. The results from the FT-IR and XPS experiments provided the evidence of chemical reactions among the PGHAPA, MWPPy-ZnO, and CNF film. Notably, the CNF/MWPPy-ZnO-PGHAPA-Cl films showed improved UV stability with a chlorine content of up to 0.16 % after 24 h of irradiation, which was much greater than that of the CNF/PGHAPA-Cl films. Furthermore, the CNF/MWPPy-ZnO-PGHAPA-Cl films displayed rapid bactericidal activity, inactivating all the contacted Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains within 5 min, along with prominent biofilm disruption, indicating great potential for daily food packaging applications.