The electrochemical synthesis of different Ag/PVP nanocomposites

Abstract

The potential use of Ag/poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) nanocomposites is in wound dressings or soft tissue implants, where Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) serve as the antimicrobial agent. Ag/PVP nanocomposites were electrochemically synthesized, by the electrochemical reduction of Ag+ ions into the AgNPs in the PVP aqueous solution and within the crosslinked PVP matrix, forming the non-crosslinked and crosslinked Ag/PVP nanocomposite, respectively. The synthesis of AgNPs was performed in an electrochemical cell with Pt working and counter electrodes and the saturated calomel electrode (SCE) as the reference. The non-crosslinked Ag/PVP nanocomposite was obtained by galvanostatic reduction of Ag+ ions from the aqueous solution consisted of 0.10 M KNO3, 3.9 mM AgNO3 and 10 wt. % PVP. The crosslinked Ag/PVP nanocomposite was obtained by in situ potentiostatic reduction of Ag+ ions within PVP hydrogel, previously prepared by -irradiation of the 10 wt. % PVP aqueous solution. Hydrogels were swollen in two different aqueous solutions ((a) 3.9 mM AgNO3, (b) 3.9 mM AgNO3 + 0.10 M KNO3) for 24 h. Ag/PVP nanocomposite systems were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, TEM, XRD, Z-sizer analysis and cyclic voltammetry.