Silver Nanoparticles Capped with Poly[(maleic anhydride)-co-(vinyl acetate)]

Abstract

Anhydride containing functional co-polymer, Poly[(maleic anhydride)-co-(vinyl acetate)] (pMAVAc) was synthesized by free radical polymerization reaction presence of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) media with benzoyl peroxide radical initiation at 80 ◦C. Surface modification of pMAVAc was carried out with silver to obtain size specific silver nanocomposites by well-known chemical-reduction approach. Structural characterizations of the samples were performed spectroscopic measurement and surface morphology identification using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), respectively. Results obtained from the ATR-FTIR analysis, detection of the characteristic spectrum data of the co-polymer composition in pMAVAc-AgNPs nanocomposite is proof that the co-polymer structure remains unchanged after treatment. The size and morphological properties of the silver nanoparticles were compatible with the characteristic nanomaterial structure and their average size was found to be 35 nm. In addition, as expected, MAVA-AgNPs nanocomposite, the detection of 79.73% Ag by mass is evidence of the high silver content in the material, and it was concluded that the co-polymer was successfully coated with silver. In recent years, considering the increasing importance of biocompatible nanomaterials in drug delivery systems and in pharmaceutical industry, the synthesized nanocomposites are thought to be a useful drug carrier system with potential antibacterial activity.