ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICIENCY OF CELLULOSE MICROPARTICLES FUNCTIONALIZED WITH SILVER NANOPARTICLES FOR WATER PURIFICATION

Several methods have been studied as alternatives for water desinfection. Among them, the use of metals such as silver, mainly in its nanostructured form have gained great attention. This work aimed to synthesize silver nanoparticles using the aminoethyl-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) as stabilizer and coupling agente to incorporate these nanostructures onto the surface of microcrystalline celulose particles. Among the different amounts of APTMS tested, the concentration of 10.8 mmol.L -1 resulted in a higher concentration of silver nanoparticles with smaller dispersion of sizes, and better colloidal stability along the time. In this way, such functionalized natural particles could be used as an antibacterial filter filling capable to disinfected water. The developed product presented excellent antibacterial properties, eliminating 100% of the bacteria in only 15 minutes for the tests with 5 and 10 ppm of NpAg.