Abstract
? 2022 Elsevier B.V.Overuse of antibiotics has given rise to drug resistant pathogens, while functional nanomaterials have emerged as a new antimicrobial way to replenish traditional antibiotics. In this work, we reported hybridized Ag/Co3O4 nanosheet composites using a combined synthetic strategy. Using adsorptive sites of 2-dimensional hydroxide, the synthesized α-Co(OH)2 ultrathin nanosheets used as initial materials captured Ag ions, which were then thermally decomposed into dense Ag nanoparticles assembled on the in-situ formed Co3O4 nanosheets, which were endowed with highly-concentrated Ag nanoparticles, long-acting antimicrobial activity, and more catalytic active centers. The targeted nanocomposite afforded excellent catalytic reduction of toxic para-nitrophenol to aminophenol. Furthermore, hybridized Ag/Co3O4 nanosheets showed the prolonged inhibitory effect (96 h) on microbial growth as typified by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans compared with that of silver- and cobalt-based counterparts. Furthermore, the MIC values of Ag/Co3O4 nanosheets against the above-mentioned microbes and Mycobacterium tuberculosis ranging from< 4–32 μg/mL were at least 8- to 32-folds lower than sole Ag or Ag-free Co-200 composites, validating the synergetic antimicrobial effect between silver and cobalt oxide. More importantly, we uncovered that the resulting nanocomposite obtained superior antimicrobial activity by sustained release of Ag and Co ions and superoxide anions against pathogens, which provides the great potential for antimicrobial application on special hospital occasions.
NSTL
Elsevier