Pentaerythritol p-hydroxybenzoate ester-based zinc metal alkoxides as multifunctional antimicrobial thermal stabilizer for PVC

Abstract There is a wide demand for PVC products with microbiocidal property. For this purpose, additional antimicrobial agents have to be added. In this work, we synthesized pentaerythritol p-hydroxybenzoate ester-based zinc metal alkoxides (PHE-Zn) additive as highly efficient antibacterial agent, thermal stabilizer, plasticizer and lubricant for PVC. PHE-Zn was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and elemental analysis. The results confirm the formation of R-O-Zn bonds and the molecular structure of PHE-Zn. The property enhancement of PVC by PHE-Zn were investigated by conductivity, oven aging, and torque rheological tests. PHE-Zn not only contributes to excellent initial whiteness and significant long-term thermal stability (without color change up to 90 min), but also improves plasticization and lubrication of PVC. In addition, using E. coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) as typical microorganisms, the antibacterial properties of PHE-Zn stabilized PVC were tested. PVC with 4 phr PHE-Zn displayed high killing rates against E. coli and S. aureus (97.92% and 91.84%, respectively). Further experiments showed that PHE-Zn was a contact-active antibacterial agent. Moreover, the mechanisms for the enhanced thermal stability and biocidal property of PHE-Zn on PVC was explored.