Synergistic effects of zinc borate and graphene on enhanced thermal stability and antimicrobial properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Abstract

The use of graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) as reinforcing material for thermoplastic polymer matrices, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and zinc borate (ZnB), as an antimicrobial and fire‐retardant agent was studied. PMMA‐ZnB and PMMA‐GnP‐ZnB (ZG) composite films were fabricated with different ZnB concentrations (2.5, 5, 10 wt%) by solvent casting method using acetone. The effect of additives on the antimicrobial activity, thermal and mechanical properties, and surface morphologies of the composites were investigated. Antimicrobial surface activity tests were conducted against seven microorganisms, including bacterial and fungal species. An improvement in antimicrobial activity by up to 99.99% with increasing ZnB content was observed. Thermal stability was increased with increasing concentration of ZnB and a combination of ZnB and GnP additions. 10% ZG‐based composites increased the % char residue value of PMMA from 0.5% to 9.3%. The incorporation of the ZnB and GnP into the PMMA matrix resulted in an increase in the calculated limiting oxygen index (LOI). 10% and 50% weight loss temperature increased by 11.7°C and 3.7°C, respectively, for 10% ZG composites. The Young's modulus of the composites increased with increasing ZnB and a combination of ZnB and GnP loading (increasing by 16% to 2033 MPa with the addition of 10 wt% ZG). The commercial application for this study would be in high touch and piano black automotive interior, construction, and medical applications.

Zinc Oxide-Based Nanomaterials for Microbiostatic Activities: A Review

“…Nano-materials containing AgO, ZnO, TiO 2 , SiO 2 , and others have good stability compared to organic materials, which is an important characteristic of antimicrobial materials. Nanoparticles (NPs) and their composites have been shown to have antimicrobial properties [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Metal-and metal oxide-based NPs have nonspecific broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities [23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…The antimicrobial properties of polymeric composites and biopolymers have been demonstrated, along with those of modified and unmodified NPs [28]. Blending metals and metal oxides with polymers/biopolymers produces highly improved antimicrobial activities due to their synergistic effects [21,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. Blending refers to the mixing of metal or metal oxides with polymers or biopolymers to form a uniform mixture.…”

Surface functionalization of carbon fiber by hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanostructures for mechanical strengthening of polymer composites

“…Growing 1‐D metal oxide NSs, such as ZnO nanorods, has a number of advantages, including improved mechanical behavior due to better matrix‐to‐fiber adhesion, gas sensing, field emission, photo‐electrochemical cells, surface polarity shielding, and improved damage resistance 30,31 . The outstanding piezoelectric, optical, electrical, mechanical, dielectric, and microwave absorption capabilities of ZnO provides potential demand as prospective whiskerization materials 32,33 . ZnO NSs arrays decrease stress concentration, improves surface area accessible for interacting with matrix, and improve load exchange capacity from fiber to matrix without impairing their mechanical qualities 34 .…”

Synergistic effect of combining metallic and mineral nanoparticles on the improvement of the performance of active poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) packaging films

“…The resulting composites exhibited excellent mechanical and dielectric properties, with SiO2‐OMMT‐POE/PP showing a 15.4 times higher volume resistivity and a 16.4% increase in breakdown field strength compared to POE/PP. In a recent scientific study, 26 researchers explored the potential of using graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) as reinforcement in thermoplastic polymer matrices, specifically polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and zinc borate (ZnB). The addition of ZnB significantly enhanced antimicrobial activity by up to 99.99%.…”