Synthesis of Novel Fibrous Cerium Phosphate-Silver-Polyethylene Nanocomposites for Antibacterial Applications

Fibrous cerium phosphate silver nanocomposite , Ce(H)0.7 (PO4)2(Ag)1.3. 2.97H2O(CePAg), was prepared by ion exchange method from reaction of Ce(HPO4)2.2.9H2O(nCePf) with 0.1M AgNO3 in 0.1M HNO3 solution. Fibrous cerium phosphate-silver nanocomposite(CePAg) was dispersed in polyethylene by melt process using twin extruder at different loading : 2 , 5 and 10 % in wt., with respect to polyethylene(PE), to obtain cerium phosphate-silver-polyethylene nanocomposites (CePAg-PE). The resultant products were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and TGA. The antimicrobial resistance of CePAg–PE was studied by measuring the diameter of inhibition zone of growths of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The results showed that CePAg-PE exhibited efficacy in the inhibition of bacterial growth especially at 10 w% content.