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

LOPEZ, GUILLERMO P.; GALLEGOS, MARÍA V.; PELUSO, MIGUEL A.; DAMONTE, LAURA C.; SAMBETH, JORGE E.; BELLOTTI, NATALIA

Emergent Materials

springer

Año: 2022 vol. 6 p. 147 - 158

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 biocide for indoor waterborne paint at 1.5% of the total solid content in paint.Two diferent zinc oxides synthesized from spent alkaline batteries, which showed photocatalyst activity, were employedas an antimicrobial agents. After leaching the anode of alkaline batteries, zinc was precipitated from the leachate liquor byintroducing oxalic acid (O-ZnO) or sodium carbonate (C-ZnO).The antimicrobial properties of the prepared oxides were tested against Staphylococcus aureus (bacteria), Chaetomiumglobosum, and Aspergillus fumigatus (fungi) using agar well difusion method. C-ZnO inhibited the growth of all the strainsstudied and presented enhanced activity than O-ZnO. The better performance as antimicrobial agent of C-ZnO compared toO-ZnO was attributed to its lower crystallite size, 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 waterborneacrylic paints. It was observed that 1.5% C-ZnO improved the antifungal properties and antibacterial properties comparedto the control sample.