Antibacterial Activity of AgNO3 Incorporated Polyacrylonitrile/Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PAN/PVDF) Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes and Their Air Permeability Properties

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers incorporated with AgNO3 in various concentrations were produced as membranes and investigated for their antibacterial properties and air permeability. To characterize the AgNO3 incorporated PAN/PVDF nanofibers Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy, the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method and air permeability analyses were carried out. Based on the SEM results, the prepared nanofibers had a smooth and beadless surface. For 20 wt% PVDF concentration, AgNO3 addition up to 20 wt% did not disrupt the fiber structure. The antibacterial activity of the AgNO3 incorporated PAN/PVDF nanofibrous membranes were investigated against bacterial strains of E. coli and S. aureus. For each AgNO3 concentration from 5 wt% to 20 wt%, the PAN/PVDF nanofibrous membranes showed antibacterial activity in correspondence with the measured inhibition zones. However, the 10 wt% AgNO3 concentration was found to be the optimum concentration providing desirable nanofiber morphology and antibacterial properties. Air permeability findings of the nanofibrous membranes did not show a significant difference for the tested AgNO3 concentrations. In summary, the results indicated that AgNO3 incorporated PAN/PVDF nanofibrous membranes are appropriate for use as air filtration materials.