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Cation exchange polymeric matrices are widely used in water treatment protocols to reduce the mineral content of hard waters, even for human consumption. However, they are not antibacterial and fl owing bacteria can be trapped in their structures and proliferate, thus acting as microbial contamination sources. Here, Ag@Co-nanoparticles (Ag@Co-NPs) with a low-cost superparamagnetic Co 0 -core and an antibacterial Ag-shell are synthesized on granulated cation exchange polymeric matrices under soft reaction conditions. The presence of these NPs provides the fi nal nanocomposite (NC) with additional functionalities (superparamagnetism and antibacterial activity) making it ideal for water purifi cation applications. Ag@Co-NPs are synthesized in situ on four cation exchange polymeric matrices containing either strong (sulfonic) or weak (carboxylic) acid functional groups homogeneously distributed (C-type) or concentrated on an external shell (SST-type) by the intermatrix synthesis (IMS) method. The NCs are characterized (metal content, NP size and distribution, metal oxidative state, and metal release) and evaluated for water purifi cation applications.

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In this communication we describe the synthesis, characterization and evaluation of the bactericide activity of a superparamagnetic bimetallic Ag/Co polymeric nanocomposite material for the treatment of bacteria contaminated aqueous solutions.

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This manuscript describes the synthesis (based on the intermatrix synthesis (IMS) method), optimization, and application to bacterial disinfection of Ag@Co polymer-metal nanocomposite materials with magnetic and bactericidal properties. This material showed ideal bactericide features for being applied to bacterial disinfection of water, particularly (1) an enhanced bactericidal activity (when compared with other nanocomposites only containing Ag or Co nanoparticles), with a cell viability close to 0% for bacterial suspensions with an initial concentration below 10(5) colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL) after a single pass through the material, (2) capacity of killing a wide range of bacterial types (from coliforms to gram-positive bacteria), and (3) a long performance-time, with an efficiency of 100% (0% viability) up to 1 h of operation and higher than 90% during the first 24 h of continuous operation. The nanocomposite also showed a good performance when applied to water samples from natural sources with more complex matrices with efficiencies always higher than 80%.

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