Preparation of Copper-Decorated Activated Carbon Derived from Tree Fiber for Antimicrobial Applications.

This study focuses on a greener approach to synthesizing activated carbon by carbonizing tree fibers (TFSA) with 98% HSO at 100 °C. The resulted TFSA was employed as an effective adsorbent for copper ions in aqueous media, yielding copper decorated TFSA (Cu@TFSA). The successful adsorption of copper onto the TFSA was proven through extensive characterization techniques. Herein, the TEM and XPS showed that copper nanoparticles were formed on the TFSA surface, without the use of additional reducing and stabilizing agents nor thermal treatment. The surface areas of TFSA and Cu@TFSA were 0.0150 m/g and 0.3109 m/g, respectively. Applying the Cu@TFSA as an antimicrobial agent against ( ) and resulted in the potential mitigation of complex secondary pollutants from water and wastewater. The Cu@TFSA exhibited outstanding antimicrobial activity against and in both synthetic and raw water samples. This demonstrated a complete growth inhibition observed within 120 min of exposure. The bacteria inactivation took place through the destruction of the bacteria cell wall and was confirmed by the AFM analysis technique. Cu@TFSA has the potential to be used in the water and wastewater treatment sector as antimicrobial agents.