title: Enhanced mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide/starch/silver nanocomposites films.
abstract: In the present work, synthesis of poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide/starch/silver (PVA/GO/Starch/Ag) nanocomposites films is reported. Such films have been characterized and investigated for their mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial properties. The exfoliation of GO in the PVA matrix occurs owing to the non-covalent interactions of the polymer chains of PVA and hydrophilic surface of the GO layers. Presence of GO in PVA and PVA/starch blends were found to enhance the tensile strength of the nanocomposites system. It was found that the thermal stability of PVA as well as PVA/starch blend systems increased by the incorporation of GO where strong physical bonding between GO layers and PVA/starch blends is assumed to cause thermal barrier effects. Antimicrobial properties of the prepared films were investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Our results show enhanced antimicrobial properties of the prepared films where PVA-GO, PVA-Ag, PVA-GO-Ag and PVA-GO-Ag-Starch showed antimicrobial activity in ascending order.
authors: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, 44000 Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors: Adil
authors: A
authors: Usman
authors: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, 44000 Islamabad, Pakistan. Electronic address: zakir.hussain@scme.nust.edu.pk.
authors: Zakir
authors: Z
authors: Hussain
authors: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, 44000 Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors: Asim
authors: A
authors: Riaz
authors: School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, 44000 Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors: Ahmad Nawaz
authors: AN
authors: Khan
keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Graphene oxide; Mechanical properties; Poly(vinyl alcohol); Polymer nanocomposites; Silver nanoparticles; Starch