Microwave assisted antibacterial chitosan–silver nanocomposite films

•Antibacterial chitosan–silver nanocomposite films were fabricated by green method.•Silver nanoparticles were synthesized within 11 min.•Utilized energy for nanoparticles’ synthesis is only 0.146 kWh.•Fabricated films exhibited good antibacterial activity.

In the current approach, antibacterial chitosan-silver nanocomposite films were fabricated through microwave irradiation. During the process, by utilizing chitosan as reducing agent, silver nanoparticles were synthesized within 11 min by microwave irradiation. Further, films were fabricated within 90 min. It involved an energy consumption of just 0.146 kWh to synthesize silver nanoparticles. This is many times less than the energy consumed during conventional methods. The silver nanoparticles were examined through UV–vis spectrum and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The fabricated films were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM–EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and contact angle (CA) measurements. The films exhibited antibacterial properties against both Gram-negative micro-organisms (Escherichia coli; E. coli) and Gram-positive micro-organisms (Staphylococcus aureus; S. aureus). In overall, the procedure adopted for fabricating these antibacterial films is environmental friendly, time-saving and energy-saving.