Fabrication of Silver-Decorated Graphene Oxide Nanohybrids via Pulsed Laser Ablation with Excellent Antimicrobial and Optical Limiting Performance.

Parvathy Nancy,Rodolphe Antoine,Reji Philip,Jiya Jose,Sabu Thomas,Sivakumaran Valluvadasan,Nandakumar Kalarikkal,Nithin Joy

doi:10.3390/nano11040880

Abstract

The demand for metallic nanoparticle ornamented nanohybrid materials of graphene oxide (GO) finds copious recognition by virtue of its advanced high-tech applications. Far apart from the long-established synthesis protocols, a novel laser-induced generation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) that are anchored onto the GO layers by a single-step green method named pulsed laser ablation has been exemplified in this work. The second and third harmonic wavelengths (532 nm and 355 nm) of an Nd:YAG pulsed laser is used for the production of Ag NPs from a bulk solid silver target ablated in an aqueous solution of GO to fabricate colloidal Ag-GO nanohybrid materials. UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and TEM validate the optical, structural, and morphological features of the hybrid nanomaterials. The results revealed that the laser-assisted in-situ deposition of Ag NPs on the few-layered GO surface improved its antibacterial properties, in which the hybrid nanostructure synthesized at a longer wavelength exhibited higher antibacterial action resistance to Escherichia coli (E. coli) than Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. Moreover, nonlinear optical absorption (NLA) of Ag-GO nanohybrid was measured using the open aperture Z-scan technique. The Z-scan results signify the NLA properties of the Ag-GO hybrid material and have a large decline in transmittance of more than 60%, which can be employed as a promising optical limiting (OL) material.

Highlights

Liquid-phase laser ablation of an a metal target (Ag) target in graphene oxide (GO) was performed at two different wavelengths in a nanosecond regime
The metallic a novel laser-induced generation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been effectively anchored on GO nanosheets via pulsed laser ablation of Ag target in an aqueous suspension of GO
The formation of surfactant-free colloidal Ag-GO hybrid materials of nanometer dimensions was confirmed from absorption and Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies

Summary

Introduction

A one-atom-thick carbon derivative in which a few layers of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal 2D lattice, is recognized as an exemplary matrix for the immobilization of NPs, due to its superior thermal/chemical stability, large surface area, and strong coupling between various nanoparticles and graphene for a large number of photonic and electronic applications [1,2,3]. Because of the existence of epoxy (–COO−). Hydroxyl (OH−) groups about the basal plane and carboxyl groups (–COO−) near the edge of the molecular structure, graphene oxide (GO) can interact with numerous organic/inorganic materials [4,5,6]. GO has been recommended for a plethora of biomedical usages comprising disinfection applications [7]. The antibacterial efficacy of Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 880.

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