Zinc Oxide Superstructures in Colloidal Polymer Nanocomposite Films: Enhanced Antibacterial Activity through Slow Drying

Abstract

Achieving control over the distribution of biocides across the thickness of polymer nanocomposite films is one of the largest challenges to develop efficient antibacterial surfaces. In such applications, it is key to maximize the biocide presence at the film top surface to ensure contact with bacteria. Here, we make use of evaporation driven colloidal self-assembly to control the vertical distribution of biocides in polymer composite films cast from colloidal blends of polymer and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. We present a thorough study which shows that the evaporation rate and ZnO volume fraction have a strong impact on the final film architecture and on its wetting and antibacterial properties. For high enough ZnO volume fraction, the ZnO nanoparticles assemble in superstructures on top of the film, which are higher the slower the evaporation rate used, and maximum ZnO surface coverage achieved through slow film drying. At high ZnO volume fraction (ϕ=0.29), the zone of inhibition diameter against E. ...