Green Aqueous Surface Modification of Polypropylene
for Novel Polymer Nanocomposites
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Abstract
Polypropylene
is one of the most widely used commercial commodity
polymers; among many other applications, it is used for electronic
and structural applications. Despite its commercial importance, the
hydrophobic nature of polypropylene limits its successful application
in some fields, in particular for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites.
Here, a facile, plasma-assisted, biomimetic, environmentally friendly
method was developed to enhance the interfacial interactions in polymer
nanocomposites by modifying the surface of polypropylene. Plasma treated
polypropylene was surface-modified with polydopamine (PDA) in an aqueous
medium without employing other chemicals. The surface modification
strategy used here was based on the easy self-polymerization and strong
adhesion characteristics of dopamine (DA) under ambient laboratory
conditions. The changes in surface characteristics of polypropylene
were investigated using FTIR, TGA, and Raman spectroscopy. Subsequently,
the surface modified polypropylene was used as the matrix to prepare
SiO<sub>2</sub>-reinforced polymer nanocomposites. These nanocomposites
demonstrated superior properties compared to nanocomposites prepared
using pristine polypropylene. This simple, environmentally friendly,
green method of modifying polypropylene indicated that polydopamine-functionalized
polypropylene is a promising material for various high-performance
applications