Microwave-assisted graphene oxide/carbon spheres with silver nanoparticles: Dual catalyst for peroxide detection and antibacterial use

The work was designed for the construction of AgNPs@Cs-Ta@GO nanocomposite, which involves incorporating silver nanoparticles into carbon spheres and then distributing them on graphene oxide. The fabrication process was expedited using a microwave-assisted technique. The nanocomposite with the core based on silver nanoparticles with an average diameter of 21 ± 12 nm showed significant peroxidase-like activity by oxidizing 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine to its oxidized form in the presence of H2O2. This compassionate H2O2 colorimetric detection allowed for quick identification of H2O2 in a broad range (0.6 ppm - 9.0 ppm) with a low detection limit of 0.2 ppm (S/N = 3). The viability of this method was confirmed by qualitatively detecting H2O2 residual in aquaculture water samples. Additionally, antibacterial tests showed strong inhibitory effects on Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802 (gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 (gram-positive) with antibacterial zones of 46.1 ± 0.11 mm and 49.3 ± 0.17 mm, respectively, at a composite concentration of 50 ppm. The rapid microwave-assisted incorporation of silver nanoparticles into carbon spheres within the graphene oxide network not only improves synthesis duration but also the catalytic and antibacterial performances thanks to minimizing coagulation and promoting electron transfer on the silver nanoparticles' surface.

Methods
The dataset for this study was collected through data acquisition from analytical instruments.