ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE BY REACTIVE EXTRUSION WITH PHOSPHONIUM CHLORIDE

摘要

An antibacterial plastic was prepared with the quaternary phosphonium salts grafted low density polyethylene by reactive extrusion. The tributyl-3-[(and 4 -)vinyl benzyl] phosphonium chloride was synthetized with 3 -(and 4 -)chloromethylstyrene and tributylphosphine before the extrusion. The dependence of antibacterial properties on the content of the quarter phosphonium salt for E. coli and S. aureus were investigated. The mechanical properties and the surface morphologies of the antibacterial plastic were studied. The results the antibacterial rates of the antibacterial plastic were 96% for E. coli, and above 99% for S. aureus at the content of the quarter phosphonium salt 2%. It was exhibited a strong antibacterial effect when the quarter phosphonium salt content up to 3% or 4%, and the antibacterial rates were both more than 99% for the S. aureus and E. coli. Results of the melt flow rate, tensile strength and elongation at break indicated that the mechanical properties of plastics were affected very weak. The observation of the polarizing microscope showed that the distribution of the antibacterial agent was uniform. The study showed the potential use of the quaternary phosphonium salt as an antibacterial agent for food packing application.