Non antimicrobial touch surface materials such as stainless steel can act as a medium for transmitting
microbes, leading to the increase of hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic-resistant microbes.
Copper can be used to replace the current non-antimicrobial touch surfaces, however, the high cost of
solid copper hampers copper from being the ideal choice. Therefore, stainless steel touch surfaces coated
with copper can become the option for a low cost yet effective alternative. In this study, electrodeposition
technique was used to coat copper on 304 stainless steel surface using 0.01 M CuSO4 solution, at pH 1.
The electrodeposition process was done using chronoamperometry by applying –0.25 V vs. Ag/AgCl for
15 min. Morphological observation revealed that 304 stainless steel surface was uniformly coated with
compact and dense copper. EDAX analysis showed the composition of copper of 98.9 wt. %, ranging
in diameter from 60-90 nm grain size. Thickness of the coating was approximately 105.8 nm. The
antibacterial property of copper coating was analysed by both Gram negative E. coli and Gram positive
S. aureus. Results indicated that copper coating has excellent antibacterial behaviour in destroying both
bacteria. E. coli was more sensitive to the biocidal action of the copper coating of which 100 % reduction
was observed within 5 min of exposure. As for S. aureus, a 100% reduction was achieved only after 10
min of exposure.