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Abstract:
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PP has been getting much attention over the years because it is a very
durable polymer commonly used in aggressive environments including
automotive battery casings, fuel containers etc. They are used to make bottles,
fibers for clothing, components in cars etc. However, it has some shortcomings
such as low dimensional and thermal stability. Materials such as metal oxides
with sizes of the order 1–50 nm have received a great deal of attention because
of their versatile applications in polymer/ inorganic nanocomposites,
optoelectronic devices, biomedical materials, and other areas. They are stable
under harsh process conditions and also regarded as safe materials to human
beings and animals. In the present investigation, PP is modified by incorporating metal oxide
nanoparticles such as ZnO and TiO2 by simple melt mixing method. Melt
spinning method was used to prepare PP/metal oxide nanocomposite fibers.
Various studies have been carried out on these composites and fibers.
In the first part of the study, ZnO nanoparticles were prepared from
ZnCl2 and NaOH in presence of chitosan, PVA, ethanol and starch. This is a
simple and inexpensive method compared to other methods. Change in
morphology and particle size of ZnO were studied. Least particle size was
obtained in chitosan medium. The particles were characterized by using XRD,
SEM, TEM, TGA and EDAX. Antibacterial properties of ZnO prepared in
chitosan medium (NZO) and commercial zinc oxide (CZO) were evaluated
using a gram positive and a gram negative bacteria |