Enhancement of antibacterial efficiency at silver electrodeposited on coconut shell activated carbon by modulating pulse frequency

Abstract

The natural antibacterial activity of silver represents an alternative to deal with the ever increasing pathogenic breakouts related with contaminated water resources. In this study, silver was deposited on the surface of activated carbon (AC) particles via pulsed electrodeposition (PED) employing an electrochemical reactor operating at fixed and fluidized bed regimes. Silver-coated activated carbon (Ag/AC) particles were prepared at different current pulse frequency values. Antimicrobial properties of the produced material were tested against two well-known foodborne pathogens, i.e., Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella typhimurium. The results demonstrate a strong influence of the applied current pulse frequency on both the bactericidal efficiency and the specific surface of silver deposited on the activated carbon. Antibacterial results demonstrate up to eight orders of magnitude decrease in the CFU cm−3 (colony-forming units per cm3) against both microorganisms in just 20 min contact time. Additional chronoamperometry transient data were fitted to the Scharifker-Hills nucleation model for the electrodeposition of silver at a rotating disk electrode, revealing an instantaneous nucleation growth processes. The Ag/AC particles were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), specific surface area (SBET), Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), demonstrating the existence of crystalline phase formation of a preferential (200) plane growth with silver and silver oxide being present.