Green and facile fabrication of silver nanoparticles loaded activated carbon fibers with long-lasting antibacterial activity

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with diameter of about 50 nm were successfully loaded on the surface of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) via a facile and green hydrothermal route. The XRD and XPS results demonstrated that the silver loaded on ACFs surfaces was in metallic form of Ag⁰. Effects of preparation conditions of pH and reaction time were investigated. pH of the reaction solution was essential for the formation of AgNPs on the ACFs surface. The possible formation mechanism was proposed on the basis of the XPS results. The prepared material was tested for its antibacterial property against typical Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria of S. aureus and E. coli, both of which showed good bactericidal efficiency. The stability of the loading was justified by washing the material with water. The long-lasting antibacterial property of the material is of significant practical importance for water purification. Electricity introduced into the system can drastically improve the bactericidal efficiency to 100% in 10 min.