Evaluation of mechanical, optical, and antibacterial properties of metal-oxide dispersed HDPE nanocomposites processed by rotational molding

To investigate the impact of zinc oxide/titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the characteristics of high-density polyethylene, researchers used the rotational molding technique to produce polymeric nanocomposites. The nanocomposites' morphological, mechanical, optical, as well as biological characteristics, were studied using a range of characterizations. SEM analysis revealed a uniform morphology of ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles in the polymer matrix, with 80-120 nanometers middle particle dimensions. The existence of ZnO with hexagonal wurtzite form as well as TiO2 with rutile phase was verified by XRD and XRF. Corresponded to the pure polymer, the HDPE-ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites' flexural modulus and tensile strength increased, but elongation at break reduced, according to mechanical characterization. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed that the HDPE- ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites showed UV light absorption at wavelengths ranging from 250 to 390 nm. According to antibacterial tests and contact angle measurements, adding metal oxide NPs to HDPE improved hydrophilicity and antibacterial activity.

Automated summary

In this study, researchers investigated the effects of zinc oxide/titanium dioxide nanoparticles on high-density polyethylene by producing polymeric nanocomposites using the rotational molding technique. They characterized the morphological, mechanical, optical, and biological properties of the nanocomposites. The results showed that the addition of metal oxide nanoparticles improved the mechanical properties, UV light absorption, hydrophilicity, and antibacterial activity of the HDPE matrix.