Preparation of iodine and silver coated thin film on poly(methylmethacrylate) substrate and examination of antifungal, antibacterial and mechanistic properties

Abstract

In this study, iodine (I₂) and silver (Ag) have been deposited on polymer substrate, namely poly(methylmethacrylate), via chemical bath deposition (CBD). For the sake of simplicity, uncoated poly(methylmethacrylate), iodine coated poly(methylmethacrylate) thin film and silver coated iodized thin film on poly(methylmethacrylate) have been denoted as PMM, I₂-PMM and Ag-I₂-PMM. Capacitance of the film has been measured with a LCR meter, whereas surface tensions were measured by a tensiometer. Transmittance, reflectance and absorption properties of thin films have been investigated via an UV-vis spectrometer. Elemental composition of uncoated PMM and thin films has been discovered by means of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Elemental composition of uncoated PMM has been determined as 64% C and 36% O, whereas Ag-I₂-PMM contained 28% iodine and 23% silver. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been employed to characterize the surface structure of I₂-PMM and Ag-I₂-PMM. In addition, antimicrobial properties of the silver coated material have been examined.