Preparation and Characterization of an Antibrowning Nanosized Ag-CeO2 Composite with Synergistic Antibacterial Ability

Abstract

Nanosized Ag and CeO2 particles obtained through the hydrothermal method were physically mixed to obtain composite antibacterial agents. The comparative experiments of antibacterial properties showed that the antibacterial activity of the nanocomposites was improved compared to the nanoparticles alone, which indicated that the synergistic antibacterial effect existed between Ag and CeO2. On the one hand, ICP-MS results showed that the existence of CeO2 suppressed the silver ion release rate and provided the composite with the ability of antibrowning; on the other, EPR data indicated that more hydroxyl radicals (·OH) were generated by the interfacial interaction between nanosized Ag and nanosized CeO2. Hence, for the Ag-CeO2 composite antibacterial agent, hydroxyl radicals played an important role in causing bacterial death.