In vitro degradation and possible hydrolytic mechanism of PHBV nanocomposites by incorporating cellulose nanocrystal-ZnO nanohybrids

Fabrication and characterization of bbiodegradable nanocomposites based on poly (3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) matrix reinforced with cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-ZnO nanohybrids via simple solution casting for possible use as antibacterial biomedical materials is reported. The obtained nanocomposites exhibited an excellent antibacterial ratio of 95.2–100% for both types of bacteria namely S. aureus and E. coli and showed 9–15% degradation after one week. The addition of CNC-ZnO showed a positive effect on hydrophilicity and barrier properties. More significantly, the nanocomposites with 10   wt% CNC-ZnO showed enhancement in tensile strength (140.2%), Young’s modulus (183.1%), and the maximum decomposition temperature (T max ) value increased by 26.1   °C. Moreover, this study has provided a possible mechanism for using such nanofillers on the hydrolytic degradation of PHBV, which was beneficial to obtain the high-performance nanocomposites with modulated degradation rate for antibacterial biomaterials.