Hierarchical Architecture of Electrospun Hybrid PAN/Ag-rGO/Fe3O4Composite Nanofibrous Mat for Antibacterial Applications

Fabrication procedures are crucial for the design and development of composite nanofibrous materials in order to obtain effective antibacterial properties. In this work, solvent homogenization and blend electrospinning are the methodology followed for the synthesis of filler nanomaterials. Earlier the hydrothermally synthesized filler rGO/Fe nanocomposites (NCs) was incorporated through the hierarchical combination onto the PAN/Ag blend to obtain PAN/Ag-rGO/Fe3O4 composite polymeric melt. Further the homogenous solution was fed into the electrospinning setup which utilizes the electrostatic forces to form one- dimensional (1D) nanofibers and on further deposition leads to the formation of nanofibrous mat. The obtained nanofibrous mat was characterized by various analytical techniques in order to study its innate material properties and behaviour. The quality and composition of the nanofibrous mat along with its nanocomposite counterparts were investigated by XPS and Raman spectroscopic analysis for comparison. Apart from the conventional antibacterial assays that are followed in several studies, the present work also demonstrated the antibacterial efficacy of the nanomaterial through estimation of live/dead bacteria by the flow cytometry method. These quantitative assessments gives information associated with the antibacterial effect of the nanomaterials which will establish the practicality and feasibility for the development of such nano-fillers functionalized nanofibrous filter for water purification.