Rapid one-pot synthesis of PAM-GO-Ag nanocomposite hydrogel by gamma-ray irradiation for remediation of environment pollutants and pathogen inactivation.

Designing a cost-effective, high potential and recyclable catalyst remains a challenge. In the present work, a monolithic PAM-GO-Ag hydrogel is prepared by a facile, eco-friendly method using gamma-ray irradiation. The formation of GO-Ag composite by gamma radiation is also investigated and it is authenticated by XRD, FTIR, Raman, XPS and TEM analysis. The PAM-GO-Ag hydrogel exhibits excellent catalytic activity to different catalysant like methylene blue, Rhodamine-B, and pharmaceutical compound ciprofloxacin. The high catalyst carrying capacity and rapid electron shuttling ability of GO plays a significant role in the high performance of PAM-GO-Ag hydrogel. The PAM-GO-Ag hydrogel also exhibits excellent antibacterial activity. The damaged cell membrane, protein leakage, and increased ROS level contribute to the antibacterial activity of PAM-GO-Ag. The monolithic structure of PAM-GO-Ag hydrogel makes it easy to handle, recover, and reuse for several runs without significant loss of catalytic and antibacterial activity. All these results showed the possible application of PAM-GO-Ag hydrogel as a promising catalyst for the reduction of different pollutants and antibacterial agents on a large scale with good reusability.