Citation: Buasri, A.; Poosri, P.; Ninprasert, P.; Niyasom, A.; Loryuenyong, V. Preparation and Characterization of Plant Extract-Loaded PVA/GO Nanocomposite Films for Food Packaging. Eng. Proc. 2023, 56, 144. https://doi.org/10.3390/ASEC2023- 15980 Academic Editor: Manoj Gupta Published: 14 November 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Proceeding Paper Preparation and Characterization of Plant Extract-Loaded PVA/GO Nanocomposite Films for Food Packaging † Achanai Buasri * , Pitchayapak Poosri, Patharawadee Ninprasert, Areeya Niyasom and Vorrada Loryuenyong * Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand; poosri_p2@silpakorn.edu (P.P.); ninprasert_p@silpakorn.edu (P.N.); niyasom_a@silpakorn.edu (A.N.) * Correspondence: achanai130@gmail.com (A.B.); vorrada@gmail.com (V.L.) † Presented at the 4th International Electronic Conference on Applied Sciences, 27 October–10 November 2023; Available online: https://asec2023.sciforum.net/. Abstract: Antibacterial agents produced from plant extracts are seen as a promising application in food packaging. Essential oil extracts, on the other hand, often have drawbacks such as long-term instability, limited bioavailability, and fast burst release. This study’s primary goal was to develop poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite films for use in food packaging, utilizing moringa (M) and guava (G) leaf extracts. The characteristics of polymer films were enhanced by adding a small quantity of GO as a reinforcing filler, and then adding phenolic and flavonoid compounds as antibacterial agents. First, GO and plant extracts were dispersed through the use of ultrasonication. Next, all chemicals were introduced in the PVA matrix with the use of a straight- forward and eco-friendly solution casting approach. Water was used as the solvent for this process. As a consequence of these findings, PVA/GO/M3% films demonstrated superior tensile strength (73.63 MPa), % elongation at break (641.94%), and modulus (23.84 MPa) in comparison to neat PVA films. The GO was an effective reinforcing filler, while phenolic and flavonoid compounds were, respectively, crystallization agents. They were distributed randomly in the PVA matrix with no preferred orientation and some agglomeration. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of the synthetic films loaded with M and G leaf extracts was low when tested against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Keywords: product innovation; polymer nanocomposites; poly(vinyl alcohol); graphene oxide; plant extract; mechanical properties; antibacterial activity 1. Introduction Polymer nanocomposites have significant use in a variety of industries, including the automotive and aerospace industries, the food packaging application, and even the medical area. In addition to being the polymeric material that can be worked with most easily, it also boasts a high strength to weight ratio. As a host for many different kinds of nanofillers, water-soluble polymers such as poly(vinyl alcohol), also known as PVA, are almost usually utilized [1]. PVA has a high degree of transparency, is hydrophilic, and has adhesive qualities, making it a widely used commercial polymer. It is also used in the production of fibers, food packaging, and biomedicine due to its strong oxygen barrier properties and its mechanical and biodegradable characteristics. Clay, carbon nanotubes, graphene and its derivatives, metal oxide nanoparticles, and other inorganic nanomaterials have all been incorporated into a PVA matrix to enhance the mechanical, electrical, and surface dewetting properties [2]. In recent years, graphene has gained popularity as a material of interest due to the exceptional electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical functions it possesses. Graphene is a two-dimensional sheet of a sp 2 -hybridized carbon structure. Because of this, it is an Eng. Proc. 2023, 56, 144. https://doi.org/10.3390/ASEC2023-15980 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/engproc