Preparation and Characterization of Polystyrene-Silver NanocompositeUsing MicroemulsionMethod and its Antibacterial Activity

Polymer nanocomposites containing metals have been used in a wide range of applications due to their versatility, and tunable characteristics including physical, chemical, biological and mechanical properties. In this research work polystyrene-silver nanocomposite has been produced using polymerization of a w/o microemulsion system. Styrene monomer was used as the oil or continues phase of the microemulsion system and polymerized following formation of Ag nanoparticles in the fluid medium. The UV-vis absorption and dynamic light scattering methods have been used to trace the growth process and size distribution of the Ag nanoparticles in the microemulsion system. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the morphology and particle size of the Ag particles in the synthesized nanocomposites.