Anchoring of silver in ceramic substrates for consumer water treatment

Abstract

The manufacture of ceramic vessels impregnated with silver enables access to drinking water in an inexpensive and relatively simple way. This study aimed to promote the surface modification of ceramic filters using APTES and EDTA as anchoring agents to improve the impregnation of silver and the efficiency and durability of the filters, evaluating different routes of surface modification. Silver anchoring and adsorption were analyzed by FTIR and atomic absorption spectroscopy, and the filtered water was analyzed for the presence of Escherichia coli. The results showed that the anchoring improved the silver capture by the ceramic, especially with the EDTA, regardless of the order in the impregnation steps. All substrates impregnated with silver, anchored or not, showed the absence of E. coli, demonstrating that the impregnation procedure reached the expected bactericidal effect and that the anchorage did not interfere in the microbiological performance of the filters.