Development of mechanical strengthened, UV-shielding and antibacterial hydroxyethyl cellulose-based composite films

Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC)-based semi-transparent, mechanical strengthened, UV-shielding and antibacterial ternary composite films were developed. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and ε-polylysine (ε-PL) were respectively used as reinforcing agent and antibacterial agent, and covalent bonds among these three components were constructed with epichlorohydrin (ECH) to achieve chemical cross-linking. The mechanical properties of the composite films were largely enhanced by chemical cross-linking, and the maximum tensile strength and elongation at break were 95.9 ± 4.1 MPa and 148.8 ± 2.6%, respectively. FT-IR and XRD analyses indicated that chemical structure of the composite films could be well controlled by varying component proportion. From UV-Vis analysis, the optimum values of the percentage of blocking from UV-A and UV-B and UPF values were 98.35%, 99.99% and 60.25, respectively. Additionally, the composite films showed moderate water vapor permeability and swelling behavior. Moreover, the presence of ε-PL contributed to the good antibacterial activity of the composite films.