Nanofibrillated cellulose as the support and reductant for the facile synthesis of Fe3O4/Ag nanocomposites with catalytic and antibacterial activity

Abstract

In this paper, we have demonstrated a facile and environmentally friendly approach to prepare Fe₃O₄/Ag@nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) nanocomposites which enables tunability from highly porous, flexible aerogels to solid and stiff films. In the procedure, NFC acts as (i) a biocompatible support for the magnetic silver nanoparticles and (ii) a reducing agent for the silver ions. Neither additional reducing agents nor toxic organic solvents were used during the preparation process. The Fe₃O₄/Ag@NFC nanocomposite aerogel exhibited excellent catalytic properties (both in efficiency and recyclability) for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Moreover, both the Fe₃O₄/Ag@NFC nanocomposite aerogel and film can be actuated by a small household magnet, and both possess high antibacterial activity against the model microbe S. aureus.