Abstract:To address the environmental pollution caused by plastic films, this study is based on the concept of "replacing plastic with bamboo" and uses bamboo cellulose (BC) as the substrate and curcumin (Cur) as the pH-responsive agent. The aim is to develop a pH-responsive intelligent packaging film with excellent performance and biodegradability. The research uses ball milling pretreatment combined with a NaOH/urea aqueous solvent system to dissolve and disperse BC, and then uses the filtration-drying-pressing process to prepare BC films. Further, Cur is added to prepare BC-Cur composite films. The microstructure, transparency, mechanical properties, thermal stability, pH response characteristics, and biodegradability of the films were systematically investigated. The results show that the transparency of the obtained BC film is 75%, the structure is regular and dense, the tensile strength can reach up to 91.14 MPa, and its initial thermal decomposition temperature is 288℃, with strong thermal stability. The BC-Cur composite film shows reversible color changes in acidic to alkaline environments, demonstrating obvious pH response behavior. Moreover, the BC-Cur film is basically completely degraded after being buried for 20 days, showing good biodegradability. This study provides feasible ideas and methods for the development of environmentally friendly intelligent packaging materials.