Executive Summary : | In the present scenario, the necessity of antibacterial materials is increasing rapidly to prevent human life from various forms of pollutants (e.g. organic, inorganic and biological substances etc.). This leads researchers to work on different nano-carbon materials as they can form different covalent bonds (sp, sp2, sp3) between atoms. The use of other nano-materials like diamond, CNT, fullerene etc. is not suitable for making antibacterial materials because of their robust structure, toxicity, etc. Graphene is a kind of nano-carbon material, which is derived from graphite and possesses distinct physical and chemical properties. Graphene consists of the single-atom-thick sheet with sp2hybridized carbon atom, possess unique structures, exceptional thermal, mechanical, electronic and optical properties. In the last decade, Graphene and its derivatives have attracted maximum attention in the field of nanomaterials with a diverse range of applications starting from bio-medicine to bio-sensors due to their higher specific surface area, excellent electronic mobility and significant mechanical strength. Particularly in the field of anti-bacterial materials, Graphene and its derivatives show commendable growth due to their outstanding physical properties, higher water solubility, ample reactive surface functionalities, etc. Specifically strong Van der Wall force in between Graphene and its derivatives facilitates accumulation and insertion of molecules (e.g. nanoparticles), which prevents restacking and increases bactericidal performances. The family of Graphene nanomaterials is also useful in water disinfection as it is free from residual metallic impurities and less mammalian cytotoxicity. Graphene and its derivatives possess distinct morphological structures and excellent physiochemical characteristics which can be manipulated to disinfect pathogens. This proposal aims to investigate the application of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) based Graphene and its derivatives over different antibacterial materials and water disinfection processes. The proposed work will be done in three ways - at first, Graphene and its derivatives will be combined with three different types of substrates which are classified according to their electrical characteristics (e.g. conductor (Cu), semi-conductor (Ge), and insulator (SiO2)). Secondly, the synergistic effect of graphene and its derivatives will be investigated by combining with Ag and Cu nanoparticles (NPs) and its effect on anti-bacterial activity. Thirdly, the compounding of Graphene and its derivatives with other materials (e.g. ZnO, TiO2 etc.) to improve the sterilization capabilities. |