An attractive photocatalytic inorganic antibacterial agent: Preparation and property of graphene/zinc ferrite/polyaniline composites

Graphene/zinc ferrite/polyaniline (GE/ZnFe2O4/PANI) composites, a kind of attractive photocatalytic inorganic antibacterial agent, were prepared via the in-situ polymerization and characterized by the modern test technologies. The antibacterial properties of the samples were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans under daylight. The results showed the antibacterial activity of the sample was influenced by strain and the mass ratio of PANI to GE/ZnFe2O4 (m(P)/Gz) in the GE/ZnFe2O4/PANI composite. In which, the sample with M-P/Gz of 0.6 had the best antibacterial activity, and its minimal inhibitory concentration is 12.5 mu g/mL for Candida albicans. Moreover, the antibacterial mechanisms were discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.