ZnO recovered from spent alkaline batteries as antimicrobial additive for waterborne paints

G.LOPEZ; M.V.GALLEGOS; MIGUEL A. PELUSO; L.C. DAMONTE; J.SAMBETH; N.BELLOTTI

Emergent Materials

Springer

Año: 2022

2522-5731

Biocides are employed to prevent biodeterioration in waterborne paints. In the present study, we used zinc oxide nanoparticles (obtained from spent alkaline batteries) as a biocide for indoor waterborne paint at 1.5 % of the total solid content in paint. After leaching the anode of alkaline batteries, zinc was precipitated from the leachate liquor by introducing oxalic acid (O-ZnO) or sodium carbonate (C-ZnO) showing photocatalytic activity,The antimicrobial properties of the prepared oxides were tested against Staphylococcus aureus (bacteria), Chaetomium globosum, and Aspergillus fumigatus (fungi) using agar well diffusion method. C-ZnO inhibited the growth of all the strains studied and presented enhanced activity compared to O-ZnO. The better performance as an antimicrobial agent of C-ZnO compared to O-ZnO was attributed to its lower crystallite size, to a higher amount of oxygen monovacancies, and to its lower band gap energy. The oxide with the best performance in antimicrobial activity, C-ZnO, was employed for the formulation of waterborne acrylic paints. It was observed that 1.5 % C-ZnO improved the antifungal and antibacterial properties compared to the control sample.