GO/Ag 2 O Composite Nanostructure as an Effective Antibacterial Agent

Silver oxide nano‐particles (Ag 2 O NPs) are prepared by wet chemical method and impregnated with graphene oxide (GO) nano‐sheets in different wt. % ratios. The Ag 2 O NPs showed peaks in with the face centered cubic crystalline structure as indicated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The characteristic peaks of GO are also appeared in XRD patterns of GO/Ag 2 O composites. SEM image of pure GO nano‐sheets represented thin flexible layered structure. In GO/Ag 2 O hybrid structure, the Ag 2 O nanoparticles are randomly anchored on the surface of GO nano‐sheets. FT‐IR spectra of GO/Ag 2 O composite illustrate the reduction in intensity of peaks as compared to pure Ag 2 O. Some oxygen functional groups are also reduced in the composites samples. The antibacterial activity of hetero systems was observed in case of E.coli and Staph aureus by disc diffusion method. In antibacterial activity, pure Ag 2 O and GO exhibited small zones of inhibition in comparison to 2.0 and 4.0% GO/Ag 2 O nano composite materials towards E. coli and S. aureus . The results indicated that GO/Ag 2 O nanocomposites can markedly inhibit E. coli reproduction as compared to S. aureus . In antibacterial mechanism, positively charged Ag ions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced more in GO/Ag 2 O nanocomposites than singly Ag 2 O and GO nanomaterials which cause the disrupting interaction with bacterial cell wall through membrane proteins. The effectiveness of Ag 2 O NPs is enhanced by incorporating GO nano‐sheets.