Synthesis of silver nanoparticle decorated carbon nanotubes and its antimicrobial activity against growth of bacteria

Many efforts have led to the development of various methods to modify multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), in recent years, which get derivative materials with more attractive features. In the present work, MWCNT decorated silver nanoparticles (Ag(+)NPs), as new hybrid material, which display increased chemical activity due to their large surface to volume ratio and crystallographic surface structure, have been examined toward applications in the area of antimicrobial activity by studying the effect of various exposure times against Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria using viable count technique. Finally, the formation of functional groups such as C=O and OH after treatment with concentrated acid characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the occurrence of silver nanoparticle deposition on treated MWCNT structure due to chemical method using silver nitrate (AgNO3) with a concentration of 0.2 M. Morphological change of bacteria in contact with Ag+/MWCNTs can be determined using SEM analysis. These observations point to the potential use of MWNTs decorated with silver nanoparticles as building blocks for antimicrobial materials.