Highly antibacterial and toughened polystyrene composites with silver nanoparticles modified tetrapod‐like zinc oxide whiskers

Abstract

In this work, high‐performance multifunctional composites were obtained by melt blending silver deposited tetrapod‐like zinc oxide whiskers (Ag‐ZnOw) with polystyrene (PS). The chemical, spectroscopic, antibacterial, mechanical, and morphological properties of the PS/Ag‐ZnOw composites were carefully investigated and discussed. The obtained PS/Ag‐ZnOw composites characterized remarkable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Moreover, it is found that impact strength of the composite increase with increasing nanofiller concentration (up to 0.25 wt %). Morphological characterization of the impact fractured surface of composites revealed that toughening was achieved through uniform filler distribution in the polymer matrix, and anchoring effect was imparted by the tetrapod‐like shape of ZnO whiskers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40900.

Shape memory, thermal conductivity, and mechanical property of polylactic acid and natural rubber composites reinforced by an inorganic thermal conductive network

“…Compared to PLA/NR/T‐ZnOw, the tensile and flexural strengths of PLA/NR/T‐ZnOw/GR were greatly improved with the loadings of 0.5 and 1 wt% GR (Figure 1c,d). This is due to the interactions formed between a small amount of GR and molecular chains in polymer, whose interfaces can effectively transfer stress when subjected to external load, showing the enhancement effect of inorganic particles 46 . However, as the GR loading beyond 1 wt%, the tensile properties of PLA/NR/T‐ZnOw/GR decreased depending on the increased GR loading.…”

“…This is due to the interactions formed between a small amount of GR and molecular chains in polymer, whose interfaces can effectively transfer stress when subjected to external load, showing the enhancement effect of inorganic particles. 46 However, as the GR loading beyond 1 wt%, the tensile properties of PLA/NR/T-ZnOw/GR decreased depending on the increased GR loading. The intercontacting in a lot of GR sheets results in the slip layers, whose slips in GR multilayers will decline the mechanical properties to a certain degree when the composite stressed.…”

Durable and Nontoxic Natural Rubber-Based Composites with Antibacterial Properties

“…This study selected three types of inorganic whiskers (needle-like calcium carbonate whisker (CaCOw), tetrapod-like zinc oxide whisker (T-ZnOw), needle-like, fusiform, or fan-shaped alkaline magnesium oxysulfate whisker (MOSw)), which are ecofriendly and do not form toxic compounds when reacting with other rubber components, and introduced them into the NRL matrix. Accordingly, we fabricated whiskers/NRL composites with excellent mechanical properties and antibacterial efficacy. − These composites are highly durable and stop bacterial invasion at the source. We created a template, which has a rapid operation and strong universality, to observe the antibacterial effect of latex composites.…”

Structure and Properties of Ti-Si Composite Ceramic Coatings by Laser Cracking with SiO₂ Particles

“…The pyrolysis yield of precursor increased significantly with the increase of filler. Pan [9] et al Modified the surface of tetraacicular zinc oxide (T-ZnOw) by melt blending, deposited Ag on the surface of T-ZnOw, prepared Ag ZnOw, and added it into PS as filler to prepare high-performance multifunctional composites. It was found that the impact strength of the composites was also improved with the increase of Ag ZnO content.…”