Facile Synthesis of chitosan-g-PVP/f-MWCNTs for application in Cu(II) ions removal and for bacterial growth inhibition in aqueous solutions

Abstract

Chitosan-grafted-4-vinylpyridine (Cs-g-PVP) was prepared utilizing free radical copolymerization method. The chemical structure of the produced Cs-g-PVP was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy, in addition thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to assess its thermal stability, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine its morphology. Enhancement of the chemical and physical proprieties was achieved by adding functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) to produce two polymeric hybrids of Cs-g-PVP/f-MWCNTs (I and II) with 3wt% and 5wt% f-MWCNTs, respectively. Characterization of these hybrids was performed using TGA, SEM and EDX analysis. Using a batch adsorption approach, the produced grafted copolymer (Cs-g-PVP) and the hybrids (Cs-g-PVP/f-MWCNTs I and II) were tested for adsorption of Cu(II) ions in aqueous solution using initial concentration of CuCl2 equals to 5x10− 3 mol/L at different pH values (i.e. 4, 7, and 9). Antibacterial activity of the Cs-g-PVP and the hybrids was evaluated against three Gram + ve bacteria (Staphylococcus aurous, Bacillus Subtitles and Streptococcus faecalis) and three Gram –ve bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The results showed that the efficiency of the Cs-g-PVP copolymer showed significant increase after inclusion of the f-MWCNTs substrate towards Cu(II) removal and antibacterial agent.