Promising antibacterial performance of Ag-nanoparticles intercalated Nb2CTx MXene towards E. coli and S. aureus

Abstract

MXenes are a group of two-dimensional (2D), atomically thin transition metal carbides, nitrides and carbon nitrides with a variety of desirable characteristics. Due to their exceptional physiochemical characteristics and ultrathin lamellar structure, MXenes have shown excellent antibacterial capabilities. Two-dimensional Nb₂CT_x MXene has been recently analyzed for potential applications in antibacterial materials. Due to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria further materials or composite materials need to be explored. In this work, we report the antibacterial properties of a composite of Nb₂CT_x and silver, synthesized using electrostatic self-assembly method. This work also demonstrates the optimization of the etching of Nb₂CT_x MXene for different time intervals and delamination of Nb₂CT_x MXene by using two different solvents i.e., tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) and isopropyl amine. The antibacterial characteristics of Nb₂CT_x MXene, delaminated Nb₂CT_x MXene and Nb₂CT_x-Ag composite of 1:1 and 2:1 were tested and compared. This study demonstrates that Nb₂CT_x-Ag composite shows higher antibacterial properties than Nb₂CT_x and delaminated Nb₂CT_x MXene and could reach an antibacterial activity of 98.5 % for S. aureus and 100 % for E. coli.