Morphology, mechanical, and crystallization behaviors of micro- and nano-ZnO filled polypropylene composites

Abstract

The aim of this study was to study the effect of ZnO concentration on the morphology, mechanical, and crystallization behaviors of iPP. Three compositions of iPP/mZnO and iPP/nZnO composites were prepared in a co-rotational twinscrew extruder machine with ZnO content of 2 wt%, 5 wt%, and 8 wt%. Tensile tests showed that the tensile strength at yield and tensile modulus of the composites tended to increase with increasing contents of mZnO/nZnO particles. This improvement in the tensile properties was attributed to good interfacial adhesion between the fillers and the matrix, as evidenced by TEM examination. The tensile strength at yield and tensile modulus values of iPP/nZnO composite with the addition of 2-8 wt% nZnO are higher than those of virgin iPP, and even higher than those of iPP/mZnO composite with the addition of 2-8 wt% mZnO. The non-isothermal crystallization behavior of iPP/mZnO and iPP/nZnO composites was investigated using DSC. The results indicated that the interfacial interaction between iPP and mZnO/nZnO increased the crystallization temperature when the content of ZnO is 5 wt%.

ZnO Nanostructures in Active Antibacterial Food Packaging: Preparation Methods, Antimicrobial Mechanisms, Safety Issues, Future Prospects, and Challenges

“…[66] However, ZnO was introduced to this PBS film to minimize the bad odor, and the end product was found to exhibit better antibacterial activity with no odor from volatiles detected. [67][68][69] Figure 3 shows that the oxidative stress generated by ZnO NPs has a large effect on their antibacterial activity. Formation of Zn 2+ ions from ZnO inhibited the actions of respiratory enzymes by interacting with them.…”

Nanotechnology: An Untapped Resource for Food Packaging

“…Essential oils act can as a promising antimicrobial agent in PBS film but their unpleasant odors affected its acceptance. To overcome its odor, when ZnO is added to PBS, then the resultant product displayed better antibacterial activity devoid of any odor from volatiles (Li and Li, 2010 ; Murariu et al, 2011 ; Zaman et al, 2012 ).…”

Polypropylene/ZnO Nanocomposites: Mechanical Properties, Photocatalytic Dye Degradation, and Antibacterial Property

“…Recently, several studies on nanocomposite materials with polymer matrixes, such as polyethylene (PE) [9,10], polypropylene (PP) [11][12][13], polylactic acid (PLA) [14], and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) [15,16] have been reported. One commercial thermoplastic polymer that has been widely used in various industries is polypropylene (PP), because of its low density, low cost, easiness in process, chemical resistance, and also excellent mechanical properties [12,17]. With the great properties of PP, it has been frequently combined with nanostructured photocatalysts, i.e., ZnO [2,18,19] and TiO 2 [11,20], to fabricate nanocomposites.…”

“…With the great properties of PP, it has been frequently combined with nanostructured photocatalysts, i.e., ZnO [2,18,19] and TiO 2 [11,20], to fabricate nanocomposites. ZnO nanoparticles are promising photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity, biocompatibility, and nontoxicity to human cells [21][22][23], so they have been extensively applied in the diverse areas [3,12,16,24,25] such as sunscreens, paints, and coatings in energy and environmental applications [26]. ZnO nanoparticles also show strong antibacterial properties (in the mixtures with organic compounds [3,27]) and high specific surface area to volume ratios [28].…”