In this research, prepared activated carbon by H3PO4 from hazelnut shells was coated with silver ions for the preparation of nanoparticles which were mixed in two ratios (1:0.5 and 1:1) by using of chemical reduction method. The adsorption capacity of activated carbons has been proven by BET and iodine number. Then, the antimicrobial effect of nanoparticles on the Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was investigated; in addition to that, the characterization of hazelnut shell and silver-coated activated carbons was determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The optimum condition of activated carbon from hazelnut shells indicated that 66.01% carbon content within 36.22% efficiency, while BET surface area achieved as 1208 m2/g and its contained 0.6104 cm3 g-1 total pore volume. The microbial effect indicated that 105 CFU/mL of E. coli was completely inhibited in 30 min. Silver-coated activated carbon showed excellent bacteriostatic activity against E. coli and S. aureus. The results show that the composite has good prospects for applications in drinking water. E. coli of 104 CFU/mL in drinking water were destroyed within 25 min of contact with the filter made with AgAC.
Keywords: Activated carbon; Antibacterial effect; Characterization; Chemical activation; Hazelnut shell; Silver.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.