This paper describes the synthesis of AgCl microwires via chemical method at room temperature using track etch membrane (TEM) as template. In this technique, the TEM template was sandwiched between two compartments in a chemical cell in such a way that the template acted as a membrane separating the two chambers. One chamber was filled with silver nitrate solution and other with sodium chloride solution. Synthesized microwires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The SEM characterization confirms the formation of cylindrical microwires of diameter and dimensions matching with the morphology of the pores of TEM template. The decrease in energy band gap of AgCl microwires is observed due to the presence of silver along with AgCl and this is also confirmed by XRD peaks. Synthesized samples of TEM impregnated with AgCl microwires were analyzed for their antibacterial activity against bacterial strains Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis via disc diffusion method and found significantly antibacterial activity against these human pathogens. The antibacterial activity, flexible surface and easy fabrication of the AgCl impregnated TEMs make this material potentially exciting for future investigations to open a door for application in wound dressing, transdermal patches and antibacterial packaging.
