Composites based on poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) and silver-calcined scallop shell powder: Mechanical, thermal, photocatalytic, and antibacterial properties

Abstract

Poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) [EVA] and silver-calcined scallop shell powder (Ag-CS) based composite (EVA/Ag-CS) films were synthesized by wet phase inversion method. The composite films were characterized by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), water sorption test, and contact angle measurement. The functional properties such as photocatalytic and antibacterial properties were also studied in detail. Calcined scallop shell powder, which mainly contains CaO and Ca(OH)2 was prepared from a naturally occurring scallop shell by the sol–gel method. Silver-calcined scallop shell powder was prepared by the reduction of silver nitrate solution in the presence of calcined scallop shell powder. It was found that composite with a 6 wt% Ag-CS showed 5% better tensile strength and improved thermal properties than the pristine EVA. The incorporation of Ag-CS imparts photocatalytic property to EVA polymer matrix. Kinetics study showed that the photocatalytic process takes place through a pseudo-first-order manner. The antibacterial study of the prepared samples was tested by the agar-disc diffusion method. The composites are found to be good antibacterial material against Staphillococus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria.