The prevention of bacterial growth and mold during the long-term storage of maize is a long-standing concern. This study introduced a synergistic antibacterial enhanced ZnO nanocomposite prepared by a top-down template method based on self-assembly mechanism. The results showed that 2D ZnO@ZIF-8 nanocomposites, with uniform ZnO encapsulation in dodecahedral ZIF-8 frameworks, exhibiting high surface area and microporous structure. The nanocomposites demonstrated synergistic antibacterial effects through sheet morphology, multisite activity, and ROS generation, the inhibition rates against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium citrinum were increased by 20.65 %, 38.87 %, 39.91 %, 38.55 %, and 40.34 %, respectively, compared with ZnO. During 42-day simulation storage, it reduced maize surface microbes by 99.5 %, while maintaining safe Zn2+ levels. The treatment suppressed toxigenic fungi, Fusarium, Meyerozyma, Penicillium, and effectively controlled A. flavus without altering species richness. This work presented an ideal ZnO-based antibacterial nanomaterial for long-term safe storage of maize.

Maize storage Microbial inhibition ZnO nanocomposites Synergistic antibacterial mechanism