Synthesis and antibacterial property of hollow SiO 2/Ag nanocomposite spheres

Abstract

This paper presents a novel and facile method to fabricate hollow silica/sliver (SiO 2/Ag) nanocomposite spheres. In this approach, the monodisperse hollow SiO 2 colloids bearing quantenary ammonium groups were prepared by dispersion polymerization combined sol–gel process and used as templates. The Ag + ions were first adsorbed onto the surfaces of the hollow SiO 2 beads via electrostatic interaction and then in situ reduced by the deprotonated silanol groups of the hollow SiO 2 beads, no extra reducing agents or catalysts were added during the reduction process. TEM, SEM and EDX analyses indicated that Ag nanoparticles were successfully deposited onto the surfaces of hollow SiO 2 beads. Some influencing parameters, such as the amount of quantenary ammonium groups in the inner wall of hollow SiO 2 colloids, Ag + ions concentration and reaction temperature, on the deposition of Ag nanoparticles onto SiO 2 colloids were investigated. Preliminary antibacterial tests indicated that these hollow nanocomposite spheres showed excellent antibacterial ability.