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Polypropylene in the melt state as a medium for in situ synthesis of copper nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Palza Humberto,
Delgado Katherine,
Moraga Natalia,
Wang Molina SingHi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.14549
Subject(s) - copper , nanoparticle , polypropylene , polymer , chemical engineering , materials science , matrix (chemical analysis) , reducing agent , metal , salt (chemistry) , copper oxide , oxide , polymer chemistry , composite material , chemistry , nanotechnology , metallurgy , organic chemistry , engineering
Copper nanoparticles were in situ synthesized into a polypropylene matrix in the melt state. Three different routes were studied depending on the method used for the addition of a copper salt: (1) directly as powder; (2) dissolved in water; and (3) dissolved in water with a reducing agent. The first route produced microcrystal, whereas the second route allowed the synthesis of nanoparticles (∼20 nm) homogeneously dispersed in the polymer matrix. By changing the concentration of the reducing agent in the copper solution (third route), a control of the copper structure in the polymer was possible and salt‐based or metal/oxide nanoparticles could be obtained. All these composites were able to release copper ions depending on the characteristic of the nanoparticles present in the polymer. Noteworthy, the resulting polymer/copper composites displayed strong antimicrobial behavior against Escherichia coli. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 60: 3406–3411, 2014