Electrospun nano silver embedded polystyrene composite nanofiber as a possible water disinfectant

Abstract

Nano silver (Ag) embedded polystyrene (PS) composite nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning technique using N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent. Nanofibers were characterized by FTIR-spectroscopy. Thermal properties of the fibers were studied with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). X-ray diffraction study showed silver nanoparticles to be of the size 19 nm with cubic structure. The size of silver nanoparticles was also obtained from TEM analysis and found to be between 11-14 nm. The morphology of PS nanofiber was demonstrated by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Antibacterial activity of PS nanofiber and nano Ag embedded PS composite nanofiber against Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis (B.subtilis) microorganisms was done by two methods: (i) well diffusion method and (ii) viable cell count method.