Antimicrobial High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)/ZnO Nanocomposites Obtained by in situ Polymerization

Nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) prepared by combustion in solution was used to obtain nanocomposites. The ZnO particles were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), showing crystallite size of 32 nm and a superficial area of 32.6 m2 g-1. Nanocomposites with 1, 3, and 5 wt.% of ZnO in the polymeric matrix were obtained using the in situ polymerization of ethylene with catalytic activities between 1500-1700 kg (molZr h PE)-1. The high-density polyethylene nanocomposites (PEZnO) were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), SEM, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanocomposites with 1 wt.% ZnO gave excellent mechanical properties, and all were active against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Pavoski,Giovani, Kalikoski,Renan, Souza,Gustavo, Baldisserotto,Daniel, Brum,Luiz Fernando W., Santos,Cristiane dos, Bergmann,Carlos, Brandelli,Adriano, Jacobi,Marly, Galland,Griselda B.
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Química 2020
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-50532020000801566
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