Study on the structure and antibacterial activity of silver-carried zirconium phosphate

The structure and antibacterial activity of silver-carried zirconium phosphate (AgZrP) were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and viable cell counting method. There existed the exchange of sodium ions with silver ions in carrier, and the silver in AgZrP was in ionic state. Moreover, no significant changes in crystal structure of carrier were found by the exchange of silver ions except for its crystal space distance and crystallinity. The antibacterial tests showed that 100 mg l−1 of AgZrP possessed high antibacterial activity and was capable of killing all the Escherichia coli (E. coli) and more than 99.9% of the Staphylococci aureus (S. aureus) within 8.0 h of contact.