Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Multifunctional metal oxide nanoparticle decorated polypropylene knitted swatches

  • Polymers
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Two methods of fabricating metal oxide nanoparticle-functionalized knitted “swatches” from melt-extruded bi-component sheath/core polypropylene (PP) fibers are described, and their possible applications for photocatalysis and gas sensing are investigated. The first method consists of melt extruding a blend of metal oxide nanoparticles and PP into fibers that are subsequently knitted into swatch materials. This method was evaluated for ZnO nanospheres and nanorods. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron microscopy showed that the nanoparticles were in the near-surface region as well as in the bulk of the fibers. However, the particles were shown to be photocatalytically inactive, likely due to site blocking by PP or processing additives, such as fiber lubricants. The second method consists of plasma-treating virgin PP swatches in air, immersing them in metal oxide colloidal suspensions, ultra-sonicating them to remove loose nanoparticles and drying the swatches. XPS confirmed that plasma treatment forms carboxylate groups on the surface that bond the metal oxide nanoparticles to the swatch. This method was used to functionalize swatches with ZnO and TiO2 nanospheres and ZnO nanorods. Metal oxide functionalization was found to induce dramatic changes in the thermal decomposition temperature of the PP swatch and in the water contact angle, rendering the swatch hydrophobic and producing photocatalytically active PP fabrics. Photoluminescence of the ZnO nanoparticle swatches was measured and shown to change upon exposure to sulfur dioxide. Furthermore, the demonstration of metal oxide-functionalized swatches as a potential gas-sensing platform is discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Sundarrajan S, Ramakrishna S (2007) Fabrication of nanocomposite membranes from nanofibers and nanoparticles for protection against chemical warfare agent simulants. J Mater Sci 42:8400–8407. doi:10.1007/s10853-007-1786-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Doumbia AS, Vezin H, Ferreira M, Campagne C, Devaux E (2015) Studies of polylactide/Zinc oxide nanocomposites: influence of surface treatment on zinc oxide antibacterial activities in textile nanocomposites. J Appl Polym Sci 41766:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  3. Perelshtein I, Lipovsky A, Perkas N, Tzanov T, Arguirova M, Leseva M, Gedanken A (2015) Making the hospital a safer place by sonochemical coating of all its textiles with antibacterial nanoparticles. Ultrasonics Sonochem 25:82–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Li R, Xiang X, Tong X, Zou J, Li Q (2015) Wearable double-twisted fibrous perovskite solar cell. Adv Mater 27:3831–3835

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Binitha G, Soumya MS, Madhavan AA, Praveen P, Balakrishnan A, Subramanian KRV, Reddy MV, Nair SV, Nair AS, Sivakumar N (2013) Electrosun α-Fe2O3 nanostructures for supercapacitor applications. J Mater Chem A 1:11698–11704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Miao D, Hu H, Li A, Jiang S (2015) Fabrication of porous and amorphous TiO2 thin films on flexible textile substrates. Ceram Int 41:9177–9182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Amor SB, Jacquet M, Fioux P, Nardin M (2010) A ZnO/PET assembly study: optimization and investigation of the interface region. Mater Chem Phys 119:158–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wang X, Chen X, Luo D, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Sun L, Liu Z (2014) Electrodeposition of ZnO on carbon nanofiber buckypaper. J Solid State Electrochem 18:1773–1777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Loewenstein T, Hastall A, Mingebach M, Zimmermann Y, Neudeck A, Schlettwein D (2008) Textile electrodes as substrates for the electrodeposition of porous ZnO. Phys Chem Chem Phys 10:1844–1847

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. McClure CD, Oldham CJ, Walls HJ, Parsons GN (2013) Large effect of titanium precursor on surface reactivity and mechanical strength of electrospun nanofibers coated with TiO2 by atomic layer deposition. J Vac Sci. Technol. A 31:0671506/1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Gong B, Peng Q, Jur JS, Devine CK, Lee K, Parsons GN (2011) Sequential vapor infiltration of metal oxides into sacrificial polyester fibers: shape replication and controlled porosity of microporous/mesoporous oxide monoliths. Chem Mater 23:3476–3485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Hirvikorpi T, Laine R, Vähä-Nissi M, Kilpi V, Salo E, Li W-M, Lindfors S, Vartiainen J, Kenttä E, Nikkola J, Harlin A, Kostamo J (2014) Barrier properties of plastic films coated with an Al2O3 layer by roll-to-roll atomic layer deposition. Thin Solid Films 550:164–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Gong B, Spangola JC, Arvidson SA, Khan SA, Parsons GN (2012) Directed inorganic modification of bi-component fibers by selective vapor reaction and atomic layer deposition. Polymer 53:4631–4636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Sadeghipour H, Ebadi-Dehaghani H, Ashouri D, Mousavian S, Hashemi-Fesharaki M, Gahrouei MS (2013) Effects of modified and non-modified clay on the rheological behavior of high density polyethylene. Comp B 52:164–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Esthappan SK, Nair AB, Joseph R (2015) Effect of crystallite size of zinc oxide on the mechanical, thermal and flow properties of polypropylene/zinc oxide nanocomposites. Comp B 69:145–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Upasani P, Sreekumar TV, Gaikar VG, Jha N (2016) Preparation of ZnO/MWCNT/PP composite films and its application as multifunctional protective film. Polymer Comp 37:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Liu D, Pallon LKH, Pourrahimi AM, Zhang P, Diaz A, Holler M, Schneider K, Olsson RT, Hedenqvist MS, Yu S, Gedde UW (2017) Cavitation in strained polyethylene/aluminum oxide nanocomposites. Eur Poly J 87:255–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Mousavian S, Ebadi-Dehaghani H, Ashouri D, Sadeghipour H, Jabbari F (2012) Effect of polymer matrix on the magnetic properties of polymer bonded magnets filled with Fe3O4 nanoparticles. J Polym Res 19:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Garbassi F, Morra M, Occhiello E (1994) Polymer surfaces: from physics to technology. Wiley, Chichester, p 228

    Google Scholar 

  20. Qian Y, Chi L, Zhou W, Yu Z, Zhang Z, Zhang Z, Jiang Z (2016) Fabrication of TiO2-modified polytetrafluoroethylene ultrafiltration membranes via plasma-enhanced surface graft pretreatment. Appl Surf Sci 360:749–757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Awaja F (2014) Multivariate calibration of ToF-SIMS and XPS data from plasma-treated polypropylene thin films. Plasma Process Polym 11:745–754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Wagner CD, Riggs S, Davis LE, Moulder JF, Muilenberg GE (1978) Handbook of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Eden Prairie

    Google Scholar 

  23. Bitar R, Cools P, De Geyter N, Morent R (2016) Atmospheric pressure plasma activation of PP films with a localized µplasma. Surf Coat Technol 307:1074–1083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Osawa Z, Kuroda H, Kobayashi Y (1984) Luminescence emission of isotactic polypropylene. J Appl Polym Sci 29:2843–2849

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Singh J, Im J, Watters EJ, Whitten JE, Soares JW, Steeves DM (2013) Thiol dosing of ZnO single crystals and nanorods: surface chemistry and photoluminescence. Surf Sci 609:183–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Unlu I, Soares JW, Steeves DM, Whitten JE (2015) Photocatalytic activity and fluorescence of gold/zinc oxide nanoparticles formed by dithiol linking. Langmuir 31:8718–8725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Camarda P, Messina F, Vaccaro L, Agnello S, Buscarino G, Schneider R, Popescu R, Gerthsen D, Lorenzi R, Gelardi FM, Cannas M (2016) Luminescence mechanisms of defective ZnO nanoparticles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 18:16237–16244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Singh J, Mukherjee A, Sengupta SK, Im J, Peterson GW, Whitten JE (2012) Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide adsorption on zinc oxide and zirconium hydroxide nanoparticles and the effect on photoluminescence. Appl Surf Sci 258:5778–5785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Zohrevand A, Ajji A, Mighri F (2014) Morphology and properties of highly filled iPP/TiO2 nanocomposites. Polymer Eng. Sci. 54:874–886

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Feng X, Jiang L (2006) Design and creation of superwetting/antiwetting surfaces. Adv Mater 18:3063–3078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Cheng Y-T, Rodak DE (2005) Is the lotus leaf superhydrophobic? Appl Phys Lett 86(144101):1–3

    Google Scholar 

  32. Bao X-M, Cui J-F, Sun H-X, Liang W-D, Zhu Z-Q, An J, Yang B-P, La P-Q, Li A (2014) Facile preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces based on metal oxide nanoparticles. Appl Surf Sci 303:473–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Barnes RJ, Molina R, Xu J, Dobson PJ, Thompson IP (2013) Comparison of TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and the correlated inactivation of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. J Nanopart Res 15:1432/1–1432/11

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge useful discussions and the technical assistance of Sandip K. Sengupta at UMass Lowell. This work was supported by U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, under Cooperative Agreement W911QY-14-2-0001. Approved for public release (U17-534).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, 01854, USA

    Ilyas Unlu & James E.  Whitten

  2. U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, MA, 01760, USA

    Jason W. Soares, Diane M. Steeves, Richard Pang & Elizabeth A. Welsh

Authors
  1. Ilyas Unlu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jason W. Soares
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Diane M. Steeves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Richard Pang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Elizabeth A. Welsh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. James E.  Whitten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James E.  Whitten.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

None.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Unlu, I., Soares, J.W., Steeves, D.M. et al. Multifunctional metal oxide nanoparticle decorated polypropylene knitted swatches. J Mater Sci 53, 1514–1526 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1577-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1577-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation