A facile synthesis of Ag@graphene-nanosheet composite with enhanced antibacterial activity and acceptable environmental safety

In this work, Ag@graphene-nanosheet (Ag@GNS) composite was prepared by ball milling using AgNO 3 as a precursor. XRD results showed silver nanoparticles were formed in the presence of graphene without the addition of a chemical reducing agent. TEM tests showed silver nanoparticles were uniformly anchored on the surface of a graphene nanosheet and were mostly in the size of 1–5 nm. ICP-AES revealed that silver makes up 9.42 % of the composite by weight. The antibacterial activities of the composite against gram-negative bacteria E. coli and gram-positive bacteria S. aureus were investigated. It was found that the Ag@GNS composite has enhanced antibacterial activity and outstanding stability, which makes it a potential antibacterial agent. Moreover, the cytotoxicity to the environment was assessed using L-929 mouse fibroblast cells using an MTT assay, which proved the composite has acceptable environmental safety for non-medical use. Graphical Abstract