Characterization and antibacterial properties of aminophenol grafted and Ag NPs decorated graphene nanocomposites

A new route for the synthesis of aminophenol grafted and Ag NPs decorated reduced graphene sheet (Ag-RGS) was developed as an effective antibacterial nanostructure. The nucleophilic substitution reaction of amine group of aminophenol with epoxy group of GO in the presence of silver nitrate and subsequent reduction with hydrazine generated Ag-RGS nanocomposite. The morphology and structure of the as-synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. TEM images of Ag-RGS revealed that the silver nanoparticles were decorated on the surface of the graphene sheet. The presence of phenolic groups and silver nanoparticles on the surface of Ag-RGS showed synergistic effect on antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This feature of the Ag-RGS nanocomposite showed that it can be a promising candidate in broad range of antibiotics.