Preparation of an antibacterial chitosan-coated biochar-nanosilver composite for drinking water purification

Microbial contamination has evolved as a life-threatening problem afflicting people due to various diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria in drinking water. Thus developing novel antibacterial materials is an urgent need. Herein, a chitosan (CTS)/ biochar-nanosilver (C-Ag) antibacterial composite was prepared by a method of CTS-coated on C-Ag obtained through a facile high-temperature carbonization process using corn straw as the carbon substrate. The results from FT-IR, XRD, SEM and TG-DSC revealed that the biochar loading spherical silver nanoparticles was coated with CTS in the composite. The antibacterial activity of the CTS/C-Ag composite was investigated using the plate counting method with Escherichia coli (E. coli), and the results suggest that the composite exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli. In this application study, it was proven that the CTS/C-Ag composite exhibits sustainable antibacterial activity and good reusability for drinking water. Therefore, the CTS/C-Ag composite has potential application in drinking water treatment.