The Effect of Encapsulation of Nano Zinc Oxide with Silica on the UV Resistance of Polypropylene

Abstract

The objective of this study is to improve the performances of the ceramic UV stabilizers in polymer nanocomposites. Silica coated ZnO nanoparticles were prepared and melt blended into polypropylene (PP) matrix in order to introduce an inert silica shell between the ZnO and polymer chains as an isolation layer and protect this polymer against photodegradation. The UV resistance of the nanocomposites was evaluated by accelerated aging test. The results indicated that the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO particles was suppressed via encapsulating with silica. The coated ZnO could effectively improve the UV stability of the PP nanocomposites.

Data on Specific Polymers

“…765 Silica-coated ZnO nanoparticles were used to produce UV-resistant polypropylene. 766 Inert silica shells prevented ZnO-catalyzed photodegradation of polypropylene. 766 Encapsulated ZnO improved weather stability of polypropylene.…”

“…766 Inert silica shells prevented ZnO-catalyzed photodegradation of polypropylene. 766 Encapsulated ZnO improved weather stability of polypropylene. 766 Tensile strength retention for 10,500 h exposure in QUV resulted from improvement in combination of UV stabilizers.…”

“…766 Encapsulated ZnO improved weather stability of polypropylene. 766 Tensile strength retention for 10,500 h exposure in QUV resulted from improvement in combination of UV stabilizers. 768 Composition contained 0.4% HALS in addition to UV absorber, antioxidant, and calcium stearate.…”

Structure and photoluminescence of amorphous silicate composites containing ZnO particles synthesized from layered sodium silicate

“…In order to overcome the defects and enhance the stability of semiconductor nanoparticles, some tactics have been employed by incorporating semiconductor nanoparticles into host optically inert materials such as polymers, glasses or ceramics [11][12][13]. Although many interests are focused on the ZnO nanoparticles incorporated in polymer matrix which not only enhanced the stability of ZnO nanoparticles but also improved the property of polymers for application in package or photovoltaic cells [14][15][16][17][18][19], the ZnO nanoparticles enclosed in inorganic host materials are still worthwhile to be studied owing to the higher stability of inorganic materials than those of the polymers or organic materials for some special applications.…”

Photostabilization of polypropylene by surface modified rutile‐type TiO2 nanorods

“…Traditional UV shields, which are usually inorganic micrometric powders, such as carbon black and talc would seriously affect the color and transparency of the products while effectively protecting PP from harmful UV radiation. For those reasons, recent research works are focused on novel inorganic UV absorbers at the nanoscale, especially, nanometric metal oxides …”