Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Properties of Fluorinated Polymers with Embedded Functionalized Nanodiamonds

João Nunes-Pereira, Pedro Costa, Liliana C. Fernandes, Estela O. Carvalho, Margarida M. Fernandes, Sónia A. C. Carabineiro, Josephus G. Buijnsters, Carmen R. Tubio, Senentxu Lanceros-Mendez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Environmentally resilient antimicrobial coatings are becoming increasingly required for a wide range of applications. For this purpose, nanocomposite thin films of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) filled with several types of functionalized nanodiamonds (NDs) were processed by solvent casting. The effects of ND inclusion and functionalization in their morphological, structural, optical, thermal, and electrical properties were evaluated taking into account the type of the nanofiller and a concentration up to 2 wt %. The morphology, structure, and thermal features of the polymer matrix are governed by the processing conditions, and no noticeable changes occurred due to the presence of the ND fillers. The polymer crystallized mainly in the α phase with a crystallinity of ≈60%. In turn, the optical transmittance from 200 to 800 nm and the dielectric constant effectively depended on the ND type and content. The inclusion of the ND particles effectively provided antimicrobial properties to the films, which depended on the ND functionalization. This study thus shows that the incorporation of functionalized NDs into PVDF allows the development of antimicrobial coatings with tailorable optical and dielectric properties, which could be of great importance to face nowadays pandemic crisis scenario.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5014-5024
Number of pages11
JournalACS Applied Polymer Materials
Volume2
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Nov 2020

Keywords

  • antimicrobial films
  • nanodiamonds
  • poly(vinylidene fluoride)
  • polymer composites
  • solvent casting

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Properties of Fluorinated Polymers with Embedded Functionalized Nanodiamonds'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this