Highly integrated nanocomposites of RGO/TiO₂ nanotubes for enhanced removal of microbes from water

Highly integrated nanocomposite of Graphene oxide (GO) and its derivatives with metal oxides is essential for enhanced performance for various applications. Tuning the morphology is an important aspect during nanomaterials synthesis; this has an amplifying influence upon physicochemical properties of advanced functional materials. In this research work, GO/TiO₂ nanotube composites have been successfully synthesized via alkaline hydrothermal treatment method by augmenting GO layers with two different phases of TiO₂ (anatase and rutile) nanoparticles, followed by the hydrothermal treatment that also have caused reduction of GO to reduced GO (RGO). The morphology of the as-prepared samples appeared to be nanotubes with a large aspect ratio (length to diameter). The synthesized materials have been characterized using various techniques to determine their morphological and functional properties. Large surface area (158 m²/g) nanotube composites found accountable as effective disinfectant for water containing microorganisms. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized composites was examined by disk diffusion method and optical density for bacterial growth using two different bacterial species; Escherichia Coli (E.coli, Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus Aureus (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-positive). The antibacterial study revealed that, the anatase phase RGO/TiO₂ nanotube composites manifested appreciable effect on both bacteria as compared to rutile phase RGO/TiO₂ nanotubecomposite.