Antimicrobial Coatings for Water Purification: Fid-Bau Portal

Antimicrobial Coatings for Water Purification

Applications and Future Perspectives

Goel, Simmi / Arya, Raj K.

Pathogenic infections significantly threaten human health, causing severe damage after entering the human body. Antimicrobial coatings retard the growth of microbes on the surface of the material on which these are applied. These are ideally used in the medical field for surface sterilization of various medical devices, water purification, and food safety by increasing their shelf life. These actually form a protective shell over the material's surface, inhibiting the growth of microbes. These can further increase packaged food products' storage time by maintaining quality and safety. The coating can be modified by adding certain metals during manufacturing, protecting them against pathogens. For example, adding silver ions will protect the coatings against pathogens. Metal–base antimicrobial coatings (Ag, Cu, and Zn) are used to retard the growth of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Some examples of commonly used antimicrobial coatings are silver‐based, copper, titanium dioxide, and zinc‐based antimicrobial coatings. Water quality deteriorates daily due to the excessive release of contaminated and untreated water due to the development of industries to meet the increasing population's demands. The wide variety of heavy metals, dyes, and organic and inorganic contaminant‐loaded wastewater severely affect the whole ecosystem, especially toxic to human health. In view of the above facts, there is an urgent need to develop certain sustainable, pollution‐free, and economical methods for water purification. Using polydimethylsiloxane and polyurethane polymers in antibacterial coatings is efficient in designing ceramic filters for water purification. Another widely used sulfonated pentablock copolymer as an antibacterial coating in water filters was found to be effective against the growth of the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The present chapter detailed the use of various metal and metal oxide, ionic liquids, and polymer composites as antimicrobial coatings, the mechanism of action, and plant extracts for water purification.