8. Nanocomposites and nanomaterials

Bio-mechanochemical synthesis of antibacterially active nanocomposite based on Ag nanoparticles, eggshell waste and Thymus serpyllum, L. plant
Baláž M.1, Casas-Luna M.2, Remešová M.2, Čelko L.2, Tkáčiková Ľ.3, Kováčová M.1, Shpotyuk, Y.4,5
1 Institute of Geotechnics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 45, 04001 Košice, Slovakia. 
E-mail: balazm@saske.sk
2 Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, Brno, 612 00, Czech Republic
3 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Komenského 73, 04181 Košice, Slovakia.
4 Institute of Physics, University of Rzeszow, 1, Pigonia Str., Rzeszow, 35-959, Poland
5 Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, 107, Tarnavskogo Str., Lviv, 79017, Ukraine

Bio-mechanochemical synthesis as a one-step solid-state methodology represents an efficient alternative to classical synthetic pathways to produce silver nanoparticles [1]. High-energy planetary ball milling of silver nitrate as Ag precursor and two natural materials (namely eggshell waste and Thymus serpyllum, L. plant) as reducing agents, was conducted to produce antibacterially active nanocomposite containing Ag nanoparticles. Taguchi design has been used to optimize the process in terms of AgNO3 mass, eggshell-to-plant mass ratio and milling time. The as-received powders were washed with distilled water and the content of Ag and Ca in solids both before and after washing was analyzed by means of atomic absorption spectrometry. The products were characterized by XRD and SEM and their antibacterial activity was evaluated. This work was supported by the International Visgerad Fund, scholarship number 52010810.

1.	Baláž M., Goga M., Hegedüs M., Daneu N., Kováčová M., Tkáčiková Ľ., Balážová Ľ., Bačkor M. Biomechanochemical solid-state synthesis of silver nanoparticles with antibacterial activity using lichens // ACS Sust Chem Eng.-2020.-8, -P. 13945-13955.