Functional Silver-Silicone-Nanofilament-Composite Material for Water Disinfection.
The roughness of superhydrophobic silicone nanofilaments (SNFs) is exploited to enlarge the contact area of conventional filter material. As an efficient wetting of the filter material is crucial for water treatment, the wettability of SNFs is readily modified from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic during the functionalization process. SNFs are coated on glass beads and subsequently modified with biocidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The enlarged surface area of SNFs allows a 30 times higher loading of AgNPs in comparison to glass beads without SNF coating. Thus, in column experiments, the AgNP-SNF-nanocomposite-modified glass beads exert superior antibacterial activity towards suspensions of E. coli K12 compared to AgNP functionalized glass beads without SNFs. Additionally, reusing the AgNP-SNF-nanocomposite-coated glass beads with fresh bacteria contaminated medium increases their efficacy and reduces the colony forming units by ≈6 log units. Thereby, the silver loss during percolation is below 0.1 μg mL-1. These results highlight, first, the potential of AgNP-SNF-nanocomposite-modified glass beads as an effective filter substrate for water disinfection, and second, the efficiency of SNF coating in increasing the contact area of conventional filter material.
Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
Margrith
M
Meier
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland.
Angela
A
Suppiger
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland.
Leo
L
Eberl
Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
Stefan
S
Seeger
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008863:Microspheres; D012828:Silicones / Q000737:chemistry*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D017155:Wettability
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D012828:Silicones; D014867:Water; D012834:Silver
antibacterial surfaces; high surface area; silicone nanostructures; silver nanoparticles; water disinfection