Preparation and antibacterial properties of aluminium oxide and silver nanocomposites

This work has demonstrated the possibility of obtaining dispersed nanocompositions based on aluminium oxide and metallic silver. The compositions can be obtained in a single reaction cycle using precursors in the form of aqueous solutions containing aluminium and silver nitrates and an organic component: polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, glycine, glycerol. Electron microscopy and X-ray studies have shown that silver nanoparticles are in contact with the surface of alumina aggregates containing phases of hydrated aluminium oxide, α-Al2O3, low temperature modifications of aluminium oxide. The absence of photocatalytic activity of the samples in the degradation reactions of methyl orange dye is shown. At the same time, the obtained samples of compositions possess antibacterial properties acceptable for practical application. The samples obtained from precursors with polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylpyrrolidone, subjected to a final heat treatment at a temperature of 850 °C for 8 hours, had the best characteristics in this respect during experiments on cultures of Escherichia coli (E. coli).