Because silver is reduced faster than copper, the addition of silver nitrate enables the promotion of a heterogeneous nucleation of copper, thereby increasing the reduction rate of copper.
On the other hand, the copper powders prepared according to the present invention had ultrafine average particle size of 100 nm grade˜1 μm grade.
These copper ions break down the cell membrane of the bacteria or coating of a virus and penetrate the organism.
Samples 41 and 42 exhibited almost same characteristics of copper powders as corresponding sample 22 of Example 2 and sample 31 of Example 3.
Research has shown that copper ions are released when microbes land on a surface and can kill them, but regular copper can cause an uneven surface that is ideal for the microorganisms to adhere to.
Copper is involved in numerous enzyme systems that break down or build up body tissues.