One-step synthesis of silver nanoparticle-filled nylon 6 nanofibers and their antibacterial properties

Abstract

A novel and facile one-step approach to in situ synthesize silver nanoparticle-filled nylon 6 nanofibers by electrospinning is reported. The method does not need post-treatments and can be carried out at ambient conditions without using additional chemicals. It employs the electrospinning solvent as a reducing agent for in situ conversion of AgNO₃ into silver nanoparticles during the solution preparation. The resultant silver nanoparticle-filled nylon 6 hybrid nanofibers show an excellent fibrous structure (fiber diameter at 50–150 nm), with narrow size 2–4 nm silver nanoparticles uniformly dispersed throughout the nylon 6 matrix. DSC analysis shows that the in situ incorporation of silver nanoparticles increased the T_g and crystallinity of the resultant nanofibers. These silver nanoparticle-filled nylon 6 nanofibers exhibit a steady and long-lasting silver ion release behavior, and robust antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive B. cereus and Gram-negative E. coli microorganisms.