Rod-Like Structure of Cotton Cellulose/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Tellurium Dioxide (TeO2) Hybrid Nanocomposite and Antimicrobial Properties

Abstract

We report on the in situ synthesis through sol-gel processing of a tellurium dioxide (TeO2)cellulose-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hybrid composite. The cellulose-PVA hybrid composite was synthesized through chemical graft in the presence of aqueous sodium hydroxide. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, SEM-EDX, high-resolution transition microscopy (FE-TEM) revealed that polycrystalline nanorods were uniformly distributed with sizes of 20 nm in the cotton cellulose-PVA-TeO2 hybrid nanocomposite. The average size of TeO2 crystallite was calculated to be 0.292 nm, as shown in the FE-TEM, SAED, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Furthermore, the hybrid nanocomposites were studied for their antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli strains, which was inhibited at a size of 10-12 mm after 24 h of incubation. [GRAPHICS] .