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Abstract
Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers incorporated with AgNO3 in various concentrations were produced as membranes and investigated for their antibacterial properties and air permeability. To characterize the AgNO3 incorporated PAN/PVDF nanofibers Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method and air permeability analyses were carried out. Based on the SEM results, the prepared nanofibers had a smooth and beadless surface. For 20 wt% PVDF concentration, AgNO3 addition up to 20 wt% did not disrupt the fiber structure. The antibacterial activity of the AgNO3 incorporated PAN/PVDF nanofibrous membranes were investigated against bacterial strains of E. coli and S. aureus. For each AgNO3 concentration from 5 wt% to 20 wt%, the PAN/PVDF nanofibrous membranes showed antibacterial activity in correspondence with the measured inhibition zones. However, the 10 wt% AgNO3 concentration was found to be the optimum concentration providing desirable nanofiber morphology and antibacterial properties. Air permeability findings of the nanofibrous membranes did not show a significant difference for the tested AgNO3 concentrations. In summary, the results indicated that AgNO3 incorporated PAN/PVDF nanofibrous membranes are appropriate for use as air filtration materials.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the Scientific Analysis, Technological Application, and Research Center of Usak University for the FT-IR measurements.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.