Antibacterial activity of hierarchical nanofibrous titania–carbon composite material deposited with silver nanoparticles

Abstract

Hierarchical nanofibrous titania–carbon composite material deposited with silver nanoparticles derived from a natural cellulose substance (filter paper) was designed and fabricated. ICP-MS analysis showed that the content of deposited silver nanoparticles is as high as (9.5 ± 0.1) wt%, and TEM observation revealed that the deposited silver nanoparticles are uniform with small sizes (∼5 nm). The antibacterial activity of the hierarchical nanofibrous titania–carbon composite material deposited with silver nanoparticles was tested against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and the material exhibited high inactivation of bacteria due to the synergistic effect of porous carbon nanofibres, anatase titania ultrathin film coating and high loading content of silver nanoparticles with small sizes.