Photoinduced Antimicrobial Polymer Blends with Benzophenone as a Functional Additive

Benzophenone (BP)-incorporated polymer films including polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films were prepared, and the structural and photoactivated properties were investigated by SEM, XRD, DSC, antimicrobial, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production tests. When the amount of incorporated BP concentration was 0.5 wt %, the polymer films were successfully prepared without significant changes in physical properties. Also, all the BP-incorporated polymer films showed antimicrobial abilities under UVA (365 nm) irradiation, and the effectiveness increased as the amounts, of BP in the polymers are increased. On the other hand, it was observed that photo-irradiated PVA/BP composite films created H2O2 under the atmospheric dark condition. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 112: 2019-2026, 2009