Study of antimicrobial capacity in reinforced composites with mineral filler

Abstract

This work presents a study carried out with the objective of equipping a composite material with antimicrobial behavior. The composite material was composed by 70% of slate waste and the functionalization of them is applied, in order to further increase its market applications. Nowadays, the materials used in a hospital context, among others, need to have an antimicrobial behavior. In this context two different ways of composite materials funcionalization with this capacity were presented. The materials used to provide the composite antimicrobial finishing material were silver salts. Through the method of functionalization of the material by surface coating, four different compositions of a silver salts , 5%, 8%, 15% and 20%, were tested. By the method of functionalizing the composite in the matrix, i.e. mixing the silver salts in the epoxy resin, the percentages of 5 and 8 were tested. Afterwards, in order to evaluate the antimicrobial capacity of the final products, specific tests according to JIS Z 2801: 2000 standard were performed, with the objective to guarantee an antimicrobial finish that has the capacity to eliminate 99% of the bacteria. This study shows that the use of silver salts can be used to produce composite materials with antimicrobial properties.