Antibacterial studies of molecularly engineered graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) to quaternary ammonium hydroxide (g-C3N4-OH) composite: An application towards generating new antibiotics

Ibrahim Muhammad and Jamilu Usman

Abstract

A new molecular modification of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) scaffold to functionalize quaternary ammonium hydroxide (g-C₃N₄-OH) by transforming the surface ‒NH₂ and ‒NH functional groups to quaternary methyl ammonium iodide via treatment with methyl iodide followed by exchange of ion with 0.1 M KOH is demonstrated. The g-C₃N₄-OH was characterized using XRD, FTIR, FESEM, HRTEM, and acid-base titration. Tested as an antibacterial agent for the first time, the synthesized g-C₃N₄-OH composite demonstrated an excellent inhibitory activity that range between 4 to 19 mm against standard laboratory strains of Staphylococcus aureus (gram +ve), Bacillus subtilis (gram +ve), Escherichia coli (gram –ve) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram –ve). More importantly, the g-C₃N₄-OH composite is more activite on gram negative bateria.