TITLE:
Facile Method for the Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles Supported on the Organoclay Material
AUTHORS:
Mokae Fanuel Bambo, Rui Werner Marcedo Krause, Richard Motlhaletsi Moutloali
KEYWORDS:
Organoclay, Copper Nanoparticles, Hybrid, Microorganisms
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology,
Vol.8 No.2,
April
28,
2017
ABSTRACT: In this study, synthesis of
copper nanoparticles was performed using organoclay as a support to stabilize
the nanoparticles. Organoclay amount was gradually increased, which had an
effect on the morphology of the resultant nanoparticles. Low amount of
organoclay added resulted in larger and agglomerated copper nanoparticles
whereas increased amount of organoclay gave smaller sized nanoparticles. The
hybrid materials were characterized using the SEM and TEM for morphology, XRD
and FT-IR spectroscopy for structural elucidation, thermal analysis using TGA
and also studying their antibacterial effect on the two well-known gram negative
bacteria of E. coli and P. Aeruginosa. The synthesized
nanoparticles were found to be crystalline Cu nanoparticles with a mix of CuO.
Larger sized copper nanoparticles and agglomerates showed the higher thermal
behaviour as compared with smaller nanoparticles with higher organoclay
loading. The hybrid showed an improved antibacterial activity as compared with
organoclay alone. The hybrid showed the higher antibacterial effect against the P. aeruginosa microorganism as
compared with the E. coli microorganism.