Deposition of copper nanoparticles on multiwalled carbon nanotubes modified with poly (acrylic acid) and their antimicrobial application in water treatment

Abstract

A novel hybrid material, Cu-PAA/MWCNTs (copper nanoparticles deposited multiwalled carbon nanotubes with poly (acrylic acid) as dispersant, was prepared and expected to obtain a more effective and well-dispersed disinfection material for water treatment. X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) were used to characterize the Cu-PAA/MWCNTs. Escherichia coli (E. coil) was employed as the target bacteria. The cell viability determination and fluorescence imaging results demonstrated that Cu-PAA/MWCNTs possessed strong antimicrobial ability on E. coil. The deposited Cu was suggested to play an important role in the antimicrobial action of Cu-PAA/MWCNTs.

Keywords

multiwalled carbon nanotubes / copper nanoparticles / antimicrobial activity / Escherichia coli (E. coil)

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.51278351 and 51078281) and International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (PIRSES – GA – 2012 – 318926).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg