Development and Characterization of Microfilter Based on Cellulosic Cotton Fabrics Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles for Congo Red Dye Degradation and Disinfecting Pathogenic Bacteria from Contaminated Water

To tackle the intense concern about low-priced drinking water point-of-use techniques, cotton fabric (CF) microfilters (MF) loaded with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were utilized to degrade the carcinogenic Congo red (CR) dye as well as deactivate pathogenic bacteria. In the present study, AgNPs were precisely synthesized using Gum Arabic as reducing and stabilizing agent, leading to spherical nanoparticles with a small size (24 nm) with monodispersity (PdI = 0.468), as proved by TEM and DLS analysis. The bleached cotton fabric was immersed in AgNPs solution and then dried and cured at 130 °C to make functionalized cotton fabrics suitable for filtration and dye degradation. Morphology, microstructure, and chemical composition were assessed using SEM and EDX analysis, suggesting the incorporation and deposition of AgNPs as fine particles to the surface of the cotton fabric. The AgNPs@CF-MF were tested in laboratories to determine their capability to perform CR removal and neutralize bacteria. The research showed that the same dose of CR dye obtained higher photocatalytic breakage percentages under the light source and the photocatalyst. The findings of our study indicate that the photocatalytic degradation of CR dye exhibited the optimal efficiency when the concentration was maintained at 10 ppm. The degradation efficiency reached to 100% after an exposure time of 180 min under visible light. The results of our study showed that AgNPs@CF-MF exhibited enhanced bactericidal activity in comparison to untreated CF-MF. The clear zone widths highlighted the efficacy of AgNPs in suppressing bacterial proliferation. Clear zone diameters against, E. coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus feacalis were 12 ± 0.59, 11 ± 0.68, 10 ± 0.43, and 8 ± 0.71 mm, respectively. This raises the prospects for using the AgNPs@CF-MF as an antimicrobial agent in the treatment of water, air filtration, and other situations where infection control is critical. AgNPs@CF-MF offers an innovative microfilter through the degradation of CR dye and water disinfection due to their photocatalytic activities and antibacterial properties, and ability to remove contaminants from polluted water during filtration.