Flower like ZnO hybrid mediated visible light harvesting film with upgraded photodynamic antibacterial capacity for effective food preservation.

Active food packaging film with light-driven antibacterial properties has inspired numerous interests for food preservation, while efficiently retains the photocatalytic ability remains highly challenging. This study pioneered an advanced visible light-driven photodynamic antibacterial packaging film (FZ-PC) employing an organic-inorganic hybrid strategy, meticulously engineering flower-like zinc oxide functional fillers (FZnO) with superior photoactivity and subsequently formulating a polyvinyl alcohol/sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (PC) mixed film matrix to enhance its physical and chemical properties. The boosting photodynamic activity of the FZnO results from the molecular-level optimization through citral modification.