Preparation and characterization of bio-based hybrid film containing chitosan and silver nanowires

•A CS-AgNWs film is prepared by using efficacious Solution Casting Method.•CS-AgNWs film showed more tensile strength and less resistivity than CS-AgNPs film.•Prepared biofilm with good conductivity also exhibited antimicrobial activity.•Current research present multifunctional CS-AgNWs film. A bio-based hybrid film containing chitosan (CS) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) has been prepared by a simple casting technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV–visible spectroscopy were employed to characterize the structure of bio-based film. The bio-based hybrid film showed unique performance compared with bare chitosan film. The incorporated nano-silver could improve the strength properly. The results revealed that AgNWs in CS film, improved its tensile strength more than 62% and Young modulus 55% compared with pure chitosan film. On the other hand tensile strength was increased 36.7% with AgNPs. Importantly, the film also exhibited conductivity and antibacterial properties, which may expand its future application.