Synthesis, characterization of polyindole/Ag ZnO nanocomposites and its antibacterial activity

Abstract Polyindole/Silver Zinc Oxide (PIND/Ag ZnO) nanocomposites were synthesized by loading ZnO and Ag nanoparticles on the surface of polyindole. Polyindole and PIND/Ag ZnO were prepared using chemical oxidative polymerization and co-precipitation method in nitrogen (N2) atmosphere. The functional groups, crystalline structure, morphology, elemental composition and shapes of the nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform spectrophotometer (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction study (XRD), scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray diffraction studies (SEM-EDAX) and transmission electron microscope with selected area diffraction (TEM-SEAD). The results were obtained from the characterization techniques reveals the formation of nanocomposites consist of polyindole, Ag and ZnO nanoparticles. Prepared nanocomposites were evaluated for the antibacterial activity against selected gram negative and gram positive bacteria. PIND/Ag ZnO nanocomposites with different shapes such as spherical, cylindrical and hexagonal were reported. This is the first report on the simple chemical synthesis of polyindole based Ag ZnO nanocomposites, which exhibits good antibacterial activity.