biodegradable pbat/evoh/zinc oxide nano composites

In this study, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (pbat)/poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol) (evoh) blend containing zinc oxide (zno) was prepared by melt mixing method with 20 wt% evoh and 3 and 6 wt% zno.  evoh polymer and zno nanoparticles are used in pbat substrate in order to reduce permeability and increase mechanical properties. the study of the microstructure of blend mixture showed that the two polymers pbat and evoh were immiscible. the addition of zinc oxide particles reduced the size of the dispersed phase. by examining the water absorption of the samples, it was found that the pure pbat sample and the nanocomposite sample with 6 wt% of zno nanoparticles had the highest and lowest water absorption, respectively. despite numerous reports on the antibacterial properties of zno we did not observe increased antibacterial properties in the blends with the additon of zno.