Graphene nanoplatelets/CeO2 nanotiles nanocomposites as effective antibacterial material for multiple drug-resistant bacteria

Abstract

Antibacterial agents with low toxicity to normal cells, redox activity and free radical scavenging property are urgently needed to address the global health crisis. The phenomenal conducting nature of graphene is a best fit to enhance the antibacterial properties of metal oxides. In this work, CeO2 nanotiles and graphene nanoplatelets/CeO2 nanotiles nanocomposites (G/CeO2) have been synthesized by a solvothermal method. The prepared materials have been characterized using XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, and UV–visible spectroscopy techniques to investigate their crystallinity, morphology, composition, and optical bandgap energies. The CeO2 and G/CeO2 nanocomposites have also been tested for antibacterial applications. The neat CeO2 nanotiles sample inhibits the bacterial growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus up to 14.21% and 39.53% respectively. The antibacterial activity was tremendously enhanced using 25% graphene-loaded sample (G/CeO2-II) i.e., approximately 83% loss of P. aeruginosa and 89% in case of S. aureus has been observed. This can be attributed to the unique nano-architecture, oxidative stress due to the excellent ability of reversible conversion between the two electronic states of CeO2 and the stress exerted by the planar graphene and CeO2 nanotiles. Therefore, the G/CeO2 nanocomposites can find potential application as nano-antibiotics for controlling pathogens.