Preparation and properties of an antibacterial activated carbon fiber containing mesopores

Preparation of an antibacterial activated carbon fiber with mesopores was attempted. Phenolic resin containing cobalt as an activation catalyst and silver as an antibacterial agent was spun, stabilized, carbonized and activated in steam. The number of the metal particles increased with as activation proceeded and reached to 100-200 nm in diameter at the largest. The activated carbon fiber with 72 m(2) g(-1) of mesopore surface area was obtained after 51 wt% burn-off of the carbon fiber containing 0.22 wt% of Ag and 52 ppm of Co. The silver somewhat disturbed formations of both micro- and mesopores through catalytic activation by cobalt. A silver content of 0.22 wt% in the activated carbon fiber was rapidly decreased to 0.0006 wt% after immersion in flowing tap water for 20 days, but the resulting fiber exhibited antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The above behaviors can be reasonably explained by the formation of an alloy of cobalt and silver.