Improving the antistatic and antibacterial properties of polypropylene via tetrapod-shaped ZnO@Ag particles

In the current work, the polypropylene composites filled with a M-T-ZnOw@Ag filler with antibacterial and antistatic properties was firstly synthesized. The composites and the fabricated nanocomposites were characterized using SEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR and XPS techniques. With the addition of M-T-ZnOw@Ag, the antibacterial and antistatic properties of composite materials are greatly improved by the synergistic effect of AgNPs and T-ZnOw. When the filler content is 10 wt%, the antibacterial activity of the composite material against Gram negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacterial were 100%. And the surface resistivity was reduced to 5.5 x 10(10) Omega, fell by nearly 7 orders of magnitude compare with the neat PP. Furthermore, the composites showed better mechanical properties. The maximum impact strength of the composites is 56.3% higher than the neat PP. We believe the composite material with antibacterial and antistatic properties could greatly expand the application range of polypropylene materials.

Automated summary

In this study, polypropylene composites filled with M-T-ZnOw@Ag filler with antibacterial and antistatic properties were successfully synthesized. The addition of M-T-ZnOw@Ag significantly improved the composite materials' antibacterial and antistatic properties, along with better mechanical properties. This composite material can greatly expand the application range of polypropylene materials.