Synergistic antimicrobial effects of polyaniline combined with silver nanoparticles

Abstract

AbstractSilver/polyaniline nanocomposites (Ag NPs/PANI) containing PANI nanofiber and Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by one‐step approach without using any extra reducing agent or surfactant and applied to new antimicrobial agents. Morphologies and crystallinity of the nanocomposites were characterized with SEM and XRD. The results showed that the average diameter of the PANI nanofibers is around 50–150 nm, and the average particle size of Ag NPs is around 100 nm. The crystallinity of PANI gets better with increasing silver nitride concentration. UV–vis absorption spectroscopy analysis indicated that the Ag NPs have some effect on the microstructure of PANI. The antimicrobial properties of Ag NPs/PANI against Gram‐negative Escherichia coli, Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus and fungous Yeast were evaluated using viable cell counts. The test results demonstrated that Ag NPs/PANI have enhanced antimicrobial efficacy compared to that of pure Ag NPs or pure PANI under the same test condition. The mechanism of the synergistic antimicrobial effect of Ag NPs with PANI was also proposed. In addition, thermal gravity analysis indicated that pure PANI and Ag NPs/PANI exhibit better thermal stability. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012