Biodegradable and
renewable UV-shielding films are highly demanded
to meet the increasing sustainable requirement for the environment.
Lignin as a natural broad UV blocker has gained considerable attention;
however, the poor dispersibility within synthetic polymers limited
its applications. Thus, a bioinspired melanin-like polydopamine thin
layer was incorporated for the first time with lignin nanoparticle
(LNP) in this effort, forming a UV-blocking core–shell lignin–melanin
nanoparticle (LMNP) with higher compatibility and durability. Subsequently,
LNP, LMNP, melanin nanoparticles (MNP), and a mix of LNP and MNP (MixNP)
were compounded with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)
(PBAT), to enhance the UV-barrier capability and photostability of
PBAT films. The incorporated LMNPs were well distributed into PBAT,
leading to improved tensile properties and thermal stability of the
resulting films. All these films possessed remarkable UV-blocking
capacity at NP concentration ranging from 0.5 to 5 wt %, blocking
almost all of UV-A and more than 80% of UV-B light, while an appreciable
optical transmittance could also be achieved. The PBAT–LMNP
films displayed a high UV-shielding stability and the best retention
in mechanical properties after UV exposure for 40 h. This work provides
a very promising approach for fabricating biodegradable PBAT-based
UV-blocking films for potential applications in agricultural or food
packaging materials where the UV resistance is highly required.