Antibacterial Characteristics of Lotus-Type Porous Copper

Abstract

Lotus-type porous copper with long cylindrical pores aligned parallel to the solidification direction was studied for use as an antibacterial material. The antibacterial performance of lotus-type porous copper samples with different specific surface areas against Escherichia coli was investigated. The results confirmed that the antibacterial effect gradually increased with specific surface area. The correlation between the pore structure of lotus-type porous metals and their antibacterial effect was also analyzed in detail. Our research proposes a new application of these metals in the water purifying system.