Preparation and Antibacterial Activity of Silver Coated Activated Carbon from Rice Husks

Silver has been in use since time because of its antibacterial effects. In the present century, the use of antibacterial metals in industry as disinfectant, by loading into inorganic materials is increasing and developing. But due to the emergence of several antibiotics the use of these silver compounds has decreased remarkably. In this study, activated carbons were produced from rice husks by chemical activation with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) at 700 degrees C in N-2 atmosphere. Rice husk activated carbon supporting silver (RHC/Ag) was prepared by activation and chemical reduction. The RHC/Ag composites were characterized by SEM, XRD, BET and FTIR. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the Ag particles were distributed uniformly on the rice husk (RHC) matrix. The antibacterial effects of characterized composites were also determined against Escherichia coli. A good antibacterial performance of the RHC/Ag composite powders was discovered against E. coli.