Original Articles
D. Maruthamani*, D. Divakar, M
Abstract
A series of reduced graphene oxide supported TiO2 (RGOT) nanocomposites with different weight ratio of carbon content was prepared by a simple one pot solvothermal process using TiO2 nanoparticles (P-25) and GO as precursors. The as-prepared samples were characterized using various analytical techniques. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of RGOT-20 nanocomposite was studied and found to be higher in comparison to bare TiO2 photocatalyst against the bacterial model P.aeruginosa under visible light. Coupling TiO2 with RGO resulted in a higher photocurrent density and more charge carriers to form reactive species (OH°, O2°¯ ) promoting the photodamaging of the cell membrane of the bacteria. The enhanced charge transfer/separation process resulting from the hybrid RGOT nanocomposite is due to the charge transfer interaction between TiO2 and RGO and it is well supported by the PL and EIS spectra. Studies on the influence of inorganic ions such as HCO3 −, Cl−, SO4 2− and NO3 −were also investigated on the antibacterial property of the nanocomposite.