Abstract
In this work, a copper coating is developed on a carbon steel substrate by exploiting the superwetting properties of liquid copper. We characterize the surface morphology, chemical composition, roughness, wettability, ability to release a copper ion from surfaces, and antibacterial efficacy (against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus). The coating shows a dense microstructure and good adhesion, with thicknesses of approximately 20–40 µm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals that the coated surface structure is composed of Cu, Cu2O, and CuO. The surface roughness and contact angle measurements suggest that the copper coating is rougher and more hydrophobic than the substrate. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) measurements reveal a dissolution of copper ions in chloride-containing environments. The antibacterial test shows that the copper coating achieves a 99.99% reduction of E. coli and S. aureus. This study suggests that the characteristics of the copper-coated surface, including the chemical composition, high surface roughness, good wettability, and ability for copper ion release, may result in surfaces with antibacterial properties.
Highlights
This phenomenon results from liquid copper penetrating and spreading through the complex fine crevice structure by capillary action [35,36]. These results provide evidence that a coating can be controlled by the fine crevice surface structure and super-spread wetting properties
We have discussed the properties of the coating surface and the correlation between antibacterial properties
The results demonstrated that a coating without visible cracks or voids between two metals can be manufactured using the superwetting property of liquid copper
Summary
Many types of bacteria can survive for long periods, with some even able to survive for more than a month [2] Various efforts, such as hand washing, disinfection, and antibacterial surfaces, have been developed to control infection, but the problem has not been resolved [2,3,4]. A recent trend in risk management of the transfer of bacteria from surface to surface is the use of copper in the manufacture of public and hospital materials [5,6] Some of these studies reported that the use of copper alloys in intensive care unit rooms can significantly reduce HAIs compared with a standard room [5,7]
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