The formation of nanoparticles during the radiation-induced chemical reduction of silver ions, copper ions, and nickel ions in films based on poly(acrylic acid)-poly(ethylenimine) complexes are...

Due to the presence of cationic units interpolyelectrolyte complexes (IPECs) can be used as a universal basis for preparation of biocidal coatings on different surfaces. Metallopolymer nanocomposites were successfully synthesized in irradiated solutions of polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyethylenimine (PEI), and dispersions of non-stoichiometric IPECs of PAA–PEI containing silver ions. The data from turbidimetric titration and dynamic light scattering showed that pH 6 is the optimal value for obtaining IPECs. Metal polymer complexes based on IPEC with a PAA/PEI ratio equal to 3/1 and 1/3 were selected for synthesis of nanocomposites due to their aggregative stability. Studies using methods of UV–VIS spectroscopy and TEM have demonstrated that the size and spatial organization of silver nanoparticles depend on the composition of polymer systems. The average sizes of nanoparticles are 5 nm and 20 nm for complexes with a molar ratio of PAA/PEI units equal to 3/1 and 1/3, respectively. The synthesized nanocomposites were applied to the glass surface and exhibited high antibacterial activity against both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella). It is shown that IPEC-Ag coatings demonstrate significantly more pronounced biocidal activity not only in comparison with macromolecular complexes of PAA–PEI, but also coatings of PEI and PEI based nanocomposites.