Preparation of Zinc Oxide-Starch Nanocomposite and Its Application on Coating

A new production method of zinc oxide (ZnO)-starch nanocomposite was invented in this study. Starch was dissolved in zinc chloride (ZnCl2) solution (65 wt%) at 80 °C. Then, ZnO-starch nanocomposite was achieved when the pH of the solution was adjusted to 8.4 by NaOH solution (15 wt%). ZnO nanoparticles were also obtained when the generated ZnO-starch nanocomposite was calcined at 575 °C. The properties of ZnO-starch nanocomposite and ZnO nanoparticle were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicated that the sizes of ZnO-starch composite and ZnO particle were 40-60 nm. UV blocking effect was observed from both ZnO-starch nanocomposite and ZnO nanoparticle. The ZnO-starch nanocomposite was used to directly coat the surface of plain paper with a laboratory paper coater. The surface strength and smoothness of paper were improved by the coating of ZnO-starch nanocomposite. The antibacterial property was also identified from the coated paper.