In situ growth of silver nanoparticles on TEMPO-oxidized jute fibers by microwave heating

Cellulose fibers deposited with metallic nanoparticles as one kind of renewable, biocompatible and antimicrobial nanomaterials evoke much interest because of their versatility in various applications. Herein, for the first time, a facile, simple and rapid method was developed to fabricate TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical) selectively oxidized jute fibers in situ deposited with silver nanoparticles in the absence of reducing reagents. The average size of silver nanoparticles deposited on the fibers is 50.0 +/- 2.0 nm by microwave heating for 5 min and 90.0 +/- 4.7 nm for 10 min heating sample, respectively. The versatile jute-silver nanoparticles nanocomposites with superior thermal stability and high crystallinity would be particularly useful for applications in the public health care and biomedical fields. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.