Synthesis of One-Dimensional Carbon Nanomaterials Wrapped by Silver Nanoparticles and Their Antibacterial Behavior

One-dimensional (ID) carbon nanomaterials wrapped by silver nanoparticles were fabricated via a facile and environmentally benign route with the assistance of supercritical carbon dioxide. Transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were densely coated by silver nanoparticles under the optimized experimental condition. In the case of carbon nanotube/silver (CNT/Ag) nanohybrids, these silver nanoparticles on the surface of carbon nanotubes were predominantly spherical in shape with excellent dispersion, and their sizes were smaller than that on carbon nanofibers. The UV-vis spectra presented a surface plasmon resonance vibration band at 448 and 414 nm for CNFs and CNTs, respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the nanoparticles were of a face centered cubic structure. Some crucial factors, which affect the growing and arraying of Ag nanoparticles along the axis of 1D carbon nanomaterials, had been investigated. As examples for promising applications, the antibacterial activities of the as-prepared one-dimensional nanocomposites were also studied.