Preparation of activated carbon fibers (ACF) impregnated with metallic silver particles from cotton-woven wastes and its performance as an antibacterial agent

Although activated carbon has been the subject of numerous research applications in water treatment, purification, catalysis, etc., its production is mainly focused on granular and powder presentations due to the commonly used raw materials (e.g., wood, phenolic resin, etc.). Herein, we report an easily established methodology for preparing activated carbon fibers (ACF) using cotton-woven wastes as raw material under chemical activation with H3PO4. We tested different experimental conditions between the activating agent and the cotton fabrics using a randomized-block experimental design with the specific surface area of the activated fibers as the response variable. A highly microporous structure was obtained with an average specific surface area of 1060 m2/g and pore size of 17 angstrom. The fibers were later impregnated with metallic silver particles using an immersion process in AgNO3 solutions followed by drying and a thermal decomposition to promote the nucleation and precipitation of non-regular shaped silver particles with sizes on the micro and nanoscale within the fiber's porous. The novel material showed a strong antibacterial effect and a complete inhibition of bacterial culture growth with silver contents as low as 200 ppm.