Polyvinyl alcohol-based bionanocomposites: Synthesis, properties, and applications

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is large, water soluble, synthetic polymer. It has been widely exploited in diverse areas of food packaging, biotechnology, and biomedical applications, due to its various lucrative chemical and physical attributes, ease of processing, high biocompatibility and low toxicity profile. One of the interesting applications of PVA is its use as matrix material for the fabrication of bionanocomposites. A recent surge has been observed regarding bionanocomposites as an emerging approach for the modification of structural and functional properties of polymers, making them suitable for the intended application. Generally, PVA bionanocomposites are fabricated by the reinforcement of nanometric organic/inorganic fillers in the polymeric matrix of PVA, alone or in combination with other polymers. This chapter deals with an in-depth description of fundamentals of PVA-based bionanocomposites. A detailed insight regarding synthesis, different properties and applications of PVA-based bionanocomposites has been captured.