Poly(vinyl alcohol)/sodium alginate/layered silicate based nanofibrous mats for bacterial inhibition

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/sodium alginate (ALG)/organic rectorite (OREC) composite nanofibrous mats are fabricated by electrospinning aqueous solutions with different mixing ratios. Both good fiber shape and three-dimensional structure of nanofibrous mats can be observed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy shows the existence of OREC in the as-spun composite mats. In addition, small-angle X-ray diffraction confirms that the interlayer of OREC is intercalated by ALG/PVA chains, and the distance between OREC interlayers is increased from 4.50 to 4.74 nm. Wide angle X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectra further verify the intercalation is between polymers and layered silicate. Moreover, the thermal gravimetric analysis shows that the addition of OREC has only a small effect on the thermal stability of composites. Furthermore, the antibacterial experiments illustrate that OREC can enhance the bacterial inhibition ability of nanofibrous mats against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.