Preparation of Polypropylene/Silver Nano-Zeolite Plastics and Evaluation of Antibacterial and Mechanical Properties

Polypropylene (PP)/silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-zeolite plastics were prepared by melt blending PP with AgNPs-zeolite at various AgNPs content of 0, 40, 80 and 160 ppm in a twin-rotating-screw extruder for inducing antimicrobial activity. Mechanical properties and antibacterial efficacy of the prepared PP/AgNPs-zeolite plastics were investigated. Results indicated that yield strength and tensile strength of PP/AgNPs-zeolite plastics were almost unchanged in comparison with that of the control PP while elongation at break was reduced from 562% (0 ppm) to 443% (160 ppm). The highly antibacterial efficiency (η~100%) was observed for the PP/AgNPs-zeolite plastics samples containing from 80 to 160 ppm of AgNPs. Thus, the prepared PP/AgNPs-zeolite masterbatch can be suitably used to fabricate a number of products like food containers, chairs, vials, etc. with highly antimicrobial activity.