Malaysian Journal of Chemistry, cilt.20, sa.2, ss.138-147, 2018 (Scopus)
© 2018 Malaysian Institute of Chemistry. All rights reserved.In the present study, poly(N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) (PHMAm)/unmodified Na-montmorillonite (Na-MMT) composites had been successfully synthesized by in situ radical polymerization and the antibacterial activities of the composites against Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria were scrutinized. The structure, morphology, and particle size of prepared composites were characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). According to the XRD analysis, the interlayer spacing of montmorillonite layers was expanded. SEM images showed that the morphology of composites was spongy and porous cauliflower-like shape. TEM revealed the Na-montmorillonite intercalated in poly(N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) matrix. All the obtained composites exhibited good antibacterial activity against various pathogens bacterial strain particularly Pseudomonas aeroginosa Gram (-) using disk diffusion method. The antibacterial activity of composites was increased with HMAm monomer content except Escherichia coli 35218.