Preparation of Antibacterial Nanocomposites of Zinc Oxide-Doped Graphene Reinforced Polypropylene with High Comprehensive Properties

Abstract

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most widely used polymers in many areas. But it also has some drawbacks. In this work, a novel nanomaterial — zinc oxide-doped graphene (G-nZnO) — was melt-blended with PP to prepare an antibacterial nanocomposite. It was found that the mechanical properties, thermal stability and barrier properties of nanocomposites reached the highest value when the content of G-nZnO was 0.2[Formula: see text]phr. The tensile properties of nanocomposites were 36% higher than those of pure PP, and the barrier properties were increased by 113%. The results of antibacterial tests showed that the antibacterial activity of nanocomposites increased with the G-nZnO content. Compared with previous studies on PP/graphene and different PP composites, this study that examined new nanocomposites was better in terms of improving various properties of PP. This kind of composite materials with excellent comprehensive performance has great potential for application in the fields of packaging and functional materials.