Aqueous synthesis of silver nanoparticles stabilized by cationic cellulose and their catalytic and antibacterial activities

This work studied the synthesis and stabilization of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in a quaternized cellulose (QC) aqueous solution. In addition, the catalytic and antibacterial activities, as well as the cytotoxicity of QC-Ag NPs are also examined. The results suggest that QC is an ideal protective agent due to the "electrosteric stabilization" provided by its cationic polymer chains. The prepared QC-Ag nanocomposites show high Ag content (93%) and stability, in addition to good solubility in water. QC-Ag NPs are catalytically active in the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol, and QC is shown to play an important role in the catalytic process, significantly enhancing the catalyst efficiency. On the other hand, the results also show that QC-Ag NPs are nontoxic at concentrations sufficient enough to show good antimicrobial activity.