“Synthesis and characterization of rGO-CuO nanocomposites for photo-degradation of multi-drug resistant bacteria”

Duration: 2017-2018. Amount: Rs.0.436 Millions

PI: Dr. Muhammad Tariq Jan - Co-PI: Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Raza

 Summery

CuO is multifunctional material with large number of applications due its interesting properties. CuO have antibacterial potency and can be easily mixed with polymers to fabricate wounds dressing materials. The CuO nanostructures based wounds dressing materials may effectively prevent infections and make the healing process fast. But the main problem with use of pristine CuO is the lower antibacterial activity due to fast electron hole pair recombination rate. This problem can be effectively resolved by making nanocomposites of CuO nanostructures with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The rGO may act as conducting channels for electrons which would quench their recombination with holes. In this study, rGO-CuO nanocomposites with different weight percentages of rGO would be synthesized via two step soft chemical route and would be characterized for physical properties and antibacterial activities.