Graphene oxide/polyaniline/silver nanocomposite synthesis and photothermal performance

•The ternary GO-PANI-Ag nanocomposite was prepared by in-situ polymerization.•Photothermal properties of GO-PANI-Ag were determined for the first time.•The maximum temperature rise 90.6 °C for GO-PANI4-Ag0.25 nanocomposite (2.5 W cm−2).•Photothermal conversion efficiency of nanocomposites was evaluated.•GO-PANI-Ag was proposed as an antibacterial and anticancer photothermal agent. In this study, synthesis and characterization of graphene oxide-polyaniline-Ag nanocomposites (GO-PANI-Ag) as a photothermal agent are demonstrated. In situ polymerization process was used to prepare the ternary nanocomposite of graphene oxide, aniline, and Ag nanoparticles. The chemical and structural characteristics of the nanocomposites were investigated by UV–Vis, FTIR, Raman, XRD, SEM, and TEM and photothermal properties were examined in the NIR region. 1 mL of aqueous dispersions of the nanocomposites at various concentrations were irradiated with the 808 nm NIR laser at 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 W cm−2 laser power densities. The temperature of GO-PANI4-Ag0.25 nanocomposite increased to 66.6, 80.1 and 90.6 °C at 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 W cm−2 of power density at 0.1 mg mL−1 for 5 min, respectively. The results showed that the GO-PANI-Ag nanocomposite has excellent photothermal performance and high stability. The synthesized nanocomposite could be used as an antibacterial agent or in cancer therapy. [Display omitted]