Mechanical and Antimicrobial Polyethylene Composites with CaO Nanoparticles

Polymers

Pablo Reyes¹  LinaM. Rivas²  Carlos Loyo³  J.Andrés Ortiz³  Felipe Bobillier³  Cristián Silva³  Nicolás Amigo³  PaulaA. Zapata³  Daniel Canales³  Francesca Antonella Sepúlveda³  Alejandro Cament³  MaríaT. Ulloa⁴  Tatiana Gómez⁵ 

[1] Centro de Excelencia en Nanotecnología (CEN) Chile, Av. Mariano Sánchez Fontecilla 310, 701-D, Las Condes, Santiago 8320000, Chile;Genomics and Resistant Microbes (GeRM) Group, Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago 8320000, Chile;Grupo Polímeros, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile USACH, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago 8320096, Chile;Programa de Microbiología y Micología, ICBM-Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Chile, dirección, Avenida Independencia 1027, Comuna Independencia, Santiago 8320000, Chile;Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Center, Institute of Applied Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Avenida Pedro de Valdivia 425, Santiago 8320000, Chile;

关键词: CaO nanoparticles;    nanocomposite;    polyethylene matrix;    mechanical properties;    ion release (Ca²⁺);    biocidal activity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym12092132

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Low-density polyethylene composites containing different sizes of calcium oxide (CaO) nanoparticles were obtained by melt mixing. The CaO nanoparticles were synthesized by either the sol-gel or sonication methods, obtaining two different sizes: ca. 55 nm and 25 nm. These nanoparticles were used either as-synthesized or were modified organically on the surface with oleic acid (Mod-CaO), at concentrations of 3, 5, and 10 wt% in the polymer. The Mod-CaO nanoparticles of 25 nm can act as nucleating agents, increasing the polymer’s crystallinity. The Young’s Modulus increased with the Mod-CaO nanoparticles, rendering higher reinforcement effects with an increase as high as 36%. The reduction in Escherichia coli bacteria in the nanocomposites increased with the amount of CaO nanoparticles, the size reduction, and the surface modification. The highest antimicrobial behavior was found in the composites with a Mod-CaO of 25 nm, presenting a reduction of 99.99%. This strong antimicrobial effect can be associated with the release of the Ca²⁺ from the composites, as studied for the composite with 10 wt% nanoparticles. The ion release was dependent on the size of the nanoparticles and their surface modification. These findings show that CaO nanoparticles are an excellent alternative as an antimicrobial filler in polymer nanocomposites to be applied for food packaging or medical devices.

【 授权许可】

Unknown