Development of nickel and silver ceramic filters supported on K10 montmorillonite clay for water disinfection

Abstract

This study aimed to obtain ceramic filters with bactericidal action for water disinfection. For this, aqueous suspensions of montmorillonite K10 clay were prepared at concentrations of 48%, 50%, and 52%. Later, these were impregnated into polymeric sponges in order to form the ceramic skeletons by using the replica technique. The ceramic filters were submerged in nickel resins doped with 0.25 and 0.50 mol% silver. These resins were obtained by the Pechini method and heat-treated at 600 and 700 ºC for 2 h. Moreover, techniques such as X-ray diffraction, particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, compressive strength, water absorption, and apparent porosity were used to characterize the filters, and their performance was analyzed by a bactericidal test. The bactericidal test results showed that the filters impregnated with the resin containing 0.50 mol% of silver promoted the total elimination of the Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria.

Recent Advances in Antibacterial Metallic Species Supported on Montmorillonite Clay Mineral: A Review

“…These solids, with their large surface areas, represent an excellent support for the immobilization of metallic nanoparticles [74,170,171]. The resulting hybrid materials can be used in the disinfection process [83,[172][173][174][175]. Chao et al [176] realized a filter paper impregnated with montmorillonite saturated with Fe 3+ cations, which was produced to filter E. coli bacteria present in water.…”

“…The authors confirmed that the result was slightly higher when compared to the use of UV radiation. Jiang et al [174] fabricated a nanomaterial based on montmorillonite decorated with lysozyme-modified silver nanoparticles for bacterial disinfection. The montmorillonite structure prevented the aggregation of the AgNPs and promoted nanomaterial-bacteria interactions.…”