Synthesis and Characterization of Co-Polymer Nanocomposite Film and its Enhanced Antimicrobial Behavior

This work reports the synthesis, characterization, and antimicrobial activity of polyaniline/polyvinyl alcohol (PANI/PVA) and polydiphenylamine/polyvinyl alcohol (PDPA/PVA) co-polymer nanocomposite films. Initially, chemical oxidative polymerization was employed to synthesis PANI and PDPA by oxidizing aniline (AN) and diphenylamine (DPA) in the presence of ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) as an oxidant. A trace amount of prepared PANI and PDPA were used to prepare nanocomposite films by solution casting technique, using PVA as a stabilizer. Surface morphological studies reveal the impregnated amorphous structure of PANI and PDPA size in the range of ~ 50–150 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) examines to confirm the presence of PANI, PDPA, and PVA in nanocomposite film. Disk diffusion approach was adopted to study the antimicrobial activity of PANI/PVA and PDPA/PVA nanocomposite films.