Efficient fabrication, antibacterial and catalytic performance of Ag-NiO loaded bacterial cellulose paper

This study reports the synthesis of bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrogel sheets and their utilization as a support for silver‑nickel oxide nanocomposites (Ag/NiO). A two-step facile hydrothermal method was employed for the preparation of Ag/NiO, followed by impregnation into BC hydrogel sheets. A 20% Ag/NiO composition was revealed by dry weight analysis. The stability of nanocomposites-Hydrogel was confirmed by Ag⁺ and Ni²⁺ ion release study. The catalytic activity of the BC-Ag/NiO was evaluated against chemical reduction of congo red, methyl orange and methylene blue. The reduction reaction followed pseudo first order kinetics and k_app values of 0.1147 min^-1, 0.1323 min^-1 and 0.12989 min^-1 were obtained for CR, MO, and MB dyes, respectively. The BC-Ag/NiO catalyst could be easily recovered and re-used in another reaction without centrifugation. The synthesized nanocomposites hydrogel was also tested for its antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus).