Synthesis and study on mechanical properties of the polypropylene/TiO2 - nano Ag composite for antibacterial application

Abstract

In this study, PP/TiO₂ – nano Ag composite were successfully prepared by melt mixing method. The composites TiO₂ – nano Ag and PP/TiO₂ – nano Ag with different silver content were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and IR spectrum to investigate their morphology and chemical compositions. It was found that the silver nanoparticles in TiO₂ matrix were uniformly distributed and strongly attached to the polypropylene matrix and the average particle size of TiO₂ – nano Ag was from 30 to 60 nm. As the result, the antibacterial property was obtained via microorganism test by showing the elimination of more than 99 % of E. coli bacteria. And UV protection behavior was also observed by UV-Vis characterization. In the other hand, the mechanical properties of polypropylene-TiO₂-nano Ag composite were noticeably improved as compared to the neat polypropylene.