Preparation of nano-CuO@BaSO4 under room temperatures and its application in PA6 composites

Abstract

In this work, by simply using barium hydroxide (Ba(OH)2·8H2O) to react with cupric(II) sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4.5H2O) in methanol under room temperatures, cupric oxide and barium sulfate co-precipitates (CuO@BaSO4) were one-step prepared, and the methanol can be recycled after separating the co-precipitates. The CuO@BaSO4 co-precipitates were then blended with polyamide 6 (PA6) to prepare PA6-CuO@BaSO4 composites and composites fiber via melt extrusion and melt spinning methods to improve the mechanic and antibacterial properties synchronously. The as-prepared CuO@BaSO4 co-precipitates have a regular size of 30–50 nm and are highly compatible with the PA6 matrix. Further investigations disclosed that the CuO@BaSO4 co-precipitates had a good dispersion in the PA6 matrix and synchronously improved the mechanical properties and thermal stability. What’s more, the PA6-CuO@BaSO4 composites showed excellent antibacterial performance and high spinnability. The bactericidal rate reached 100% when adding tiny content (0.24 wt%) of Cu2+ into PA6 fibers.