Structures, mechanical properties and antibacterial activity of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite materials synthesized via HVPG technique for coating application

Muhammad Akhsin Muflikhun; Marcel C Frommelt; Madiha Farman; Alvin Y Chua; Gil Nonato C Santos

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01475

Structures, mechanical properties and antibacterial activity of Ag/TiO₂ nanocomposite materials synthesized via HVPG technique for coating application

Heliyon. 2019 Apr 5;5(4):e01475. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01475. eCollection 2019 Apr.

Authors

Muhammad Akhsin Muflikhun¹, Marcel C Frommelt², Madiha Farman³, Alvin Y Chua⁴, Gil Nonato C Santos⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gadjah Mada University, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.
² University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
³ Mechanical Engineering Department, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Mechanical Engineering Department, De La Salle University, 2401, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines.
⁵ Physics Department, De La Salle University, 2401, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines.

Abstract

In this study, the structures and mechanical properties of the silver-titanium dioxide nanocomposite material were investigated using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). These properties include surface roughness, hardness, and reduced Young's modulus. The nanocomposite material was successfully synthesized using the Horizontal Vapor Phase Growth (HVPG) technique which yielded shapes such as nanoparticles, nanospheres, nanorods, triangular nanocomposites, and nanocrystals. Characterization of nanocomposite materials was done through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy to elucidate material shape, diameter, and composition. The pour plate technique combined with McFarland standards was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite material against Staphylococcus aureus. The nanocomposite material was able to eradicate bacteria and was suitable for coating applications effectively.

Keywords: Materials science; Mechanical engineering; Nanotechnology.