Green Aqueous Surface Modification of Polypropylene for Novel Polymer Nanocomposites

Abstract

Polypropylene is one of the most widely used commercial commodity polymers; among many other applications, it is used for electronic and structural applications. Despite its commercial importance, the hydrophobic nature of polypropylene limits its successful application in some fields, in particular for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites. Here, a facile, plasma-assisted, biomimetic, environmentally friendly method was developed to enhance the interfacial interactions in polymer nanocomposites by modifying the surface of polypropylene. Plasma treated polypropylene was surface-modified with polydopamine (PDA) in an aqueous medium without employing other chemicals. The surface modification strategy used here was based on the easy self-polymerization and strong adhesion characteristics of dopamine (DA) under ambient laboratory conditions. The changes in surface characteristics of polypropylene were investigated using FTIR, TGA, and Raman spectroscopy. Subsequently, the surface modified polypropylene was used as the matrix to prepare SiO2-reinforced polymer nanocomposites. These nanocomposites demonstrated superior properties compared to nanocomposites prepared using pristine polypropylene. This simple, environmentally friendly, green method of modifying polypropylene indicated that polydopamine-functionalized polypropylene is a promising material for various high-performance applications.

Nucleation ability of advanced functional silica/lignin hybrid fillers in polypropylene composites

“…The results show that pure polypropylene is thermally stable to a temperature of approximately 400°C, which is then followed by its decomposition. This degradation behavior is consistent with the literature data [51]. Addition of lignin to a polypropylene does not increase the thermal stability of the composite, which is associated with the decomposition of biopolymer at temperature of about 250-300°C.…”

Design dopamine-modified polypropylene fibers towards removal of heavy metal ions from water

“…6 It has a great amount of catechol functional groups, which, on the one hand, have a high affinity to heavy metal ions. [10][11][12] For example, Zhang et al used dopamine embedded with magnetic materials (e.g., modified nano-iron oxide) to improve the degradation and adsorption by catalytic reactions in heavy metal ions of waste water. 13 Cheng et al studied efficient removal of heavy metal ions from water using dopamine modified graphene.…”

Pressure‐induced crystallization of low density polyethylene on carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers

“…Further, a subtle manipulation of chemical structure by functionalization may give rise to an entirely new and improved polymeric material [1][2][3][4][5]. Polyethylene (PE) is a semicrystalline thermoplastic polymer and owing to its properties including a high melting temperature, low glass transition temperature, and fast crystallization rate, it is widely used in many engineering applications [6][7][8][9].…”