Synthesis of silane ligand-modified graphene oxide and antibacterial activity of modified graphene-silver nanocomposite

•GO sheets were modified with a new silane ligand.•Ag NPs with monodispersed size (8 nm) were loaded on the surface of modified graphene.•Modified graphene/Ag nanocomposite showed good antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus.

In this research, a new type of chemically modified graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized based a silane ligand and then used as substrate and stabilizing for the synthesis of monodispersed and small Ag nanoparticles (NPs). First, ligand molecules were successfully grafted onto the surface of GO (LGO) and then, active groups of LGO could effectively interact with Ag ions. The reduction of Ag ions and LGO sheets was carried out by hydrazine under reflux. The resulted nanocomposite was fully characterized by different techniques. Furthermore, the antibacterial behavior of nanocomposite was studied against E. coli and S. aureus. The results showed that nanocomposite exhibits good antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus and also S. aureus showed greater resistance than the E. coli strains against the LG/Ag nanocomposite.

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