Interpenetrating polymer network-based nanocomposites reinforced with octadecylamine capped Cu/reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid with hydrophobic, antimicrobial and antistatic attributes

Publication date: December 2019Source: Materials Science and Engineering: C, Volume 105Author(s): Tuhin Ghosh, Pritam Bardhan, Manabendra Mandal, Niranjan KarakAbstractDesigning of mechanically tough elastomeric materials encompassed with intrinsic surface hydrophobicity, antistatic and antimicrobial attributes is in skyrocketing demands, especially to protect the instruments which are submerged in water. Herein, the authors depicted the fabrication of interpenetrating polymer network-based nanocomposites containing different doses of octadecylamine capped Cu/RGO nanohybrid. The structures and morphologies of the synthesized nanohybrid and the fabricated nanocomposites were characterized by using FTIR, XRD, XPS, TGA, FESEM and TEM analyses. Most interestingly the nanocomposites showed good hydrophobicity (static contact angle: 119.2°–129.3°), low surface resistivity (~107 Ω m) and strong antimicrobial activity towards Gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yersinia pestis) and Gram positive (Bacillus cereus) bacterial strains. The fabricated nanocomposites also exhibited antifungal (Candida albicans) activity. In addition, the fabricated nanocomposites showed excellent mechanical properties including high tensile strength (14.03–20.9 MPa), outstanding flexibility (1887–2470%), excellent toughness (249.89–510.1 MJ.m−3), high scratch resistance (>10 kg) and high thermostability (281–288 °C). Therefore, the fabricated nanocomposites can be used as ...

Source: Materials Science and Engineering: C - August 20, 2019 Category: Materials Science Source Type: research