Abstract
The application of Friedel-Craft reactions has been extended to the biological systems. Recently, these reactions have led to the generation of a new set of polyketones (PKa-c) along with the related zinc oxide doped nanocomposites (ZnOPKd-f). Prior to the process of polymerization, these newly synthesized monomers were subjected to spectral analysis to reveal their chemical structures. Three arylidene monomers based on three different moieties including benzylidene, thiophenylidene and furfurylidene were synthesized through a direct condensation reaction. These monomers interacted with terephthaloyl chloride in the presence of anhydrous AlCl3 in organic methanol solvent via Friedel-Crafts reaction, to produce the desired PKa-c. Further, a series of ZnOPKd-f nanocomposites were fabricated using a 10% loading of ZnO nanoparticles throughout the same experimental procedure as required to develop PKa-c. A common characterization tool was employed to prove the structures for PKa-c and its related ZnOPKd-f TGA results established enhancement in the thermal behavior of PK a-c with the different structures. PDTmax values showed that all the polymers had a similar identity which appeared in the range from 578° to 630°. Additionally, the morphological properties were assessed by using scanning electron microscopy which revealed the formation of ZnOPKd-f and ZnO nanoparticles. The latter are spherical particles, ranging in of 29 to 223 nm loaded on the polymer surface. The TEM images illustrated the uniform distribution of the ZnO nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. The ZnOPKd-f nanocomposites were examined for their antimicrobial activity against variable kinds of bacteria and fungi. Based on the biological screening, it was observed that the ZnOPKd-f nanocomposite materials can be used as moderate antibacterial and antifungal agents.