Physical characterization and antibacterial activity of PVA/Chitosan matrix doped by selenium nanoparticles prepared via one-pot laser ablation route

Blend of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Chitosan doped by selenium nanoparticles was synthesized via one step laser ablation route to improve the antibacterial activity of the pure blend. The effect of two concentrations of selenium on the optical, structural, and morphological properties of the synthesized PVA/Chitosan/SeNPs nanocomposite films were characterized. The antibacterial activity of the prepared samples has been investigated. XRD and FTIR-ATR results confirm the interaction between selenium nanoparticles and PVA/Chitosan. Furthermore, the change in the values of optical energy band gap confirms the scattered selenium nanoparticles into PVA/Chitosan film. The activity index shows an increase in the diameter zone with increasing the concentration of selenium nanoparticles content. The results confirmed that doping of selenium nanoparticles to (PVA/Chitosan) lead to increase the antibacterial activity of the pure PVA/Chitosan blend that suggests this nanocomposite could be used in several antimicrobial applications. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.