Application of silver nanoparticles to cotton fabric as an antibacterial textile finish

• Published in: Fibers and polymers Vol. 10; no. 4; pp. 496 - 501
• Main Authors: Zhang, Feng, Wu, Xiaolan, Chen, Yuyue, Lin, Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg The Korean Fiber Society 01-08-2009; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bacteria; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Colloids; Cotton; Cotton fabrics; Escherichia coli; Fabrics; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Polymer Sciences; Reduction; Silver; Staphylococcus aureus; Antimicrobial activity; Cotton fabric; Silver nanoparticle
• ISSN: 1229-9197; 1875-0052
• DOI: 10.1007/s12221-009-0496-8

A novel nano-silver colloidal solution was prepared in one step by mixing AgNO
3
aqueous solution and an amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (HBP-NH
2
) aqueous solution under vigorous stirring at room temperature. All results of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and UV/Visible Absorption Spectrophotometry indicated that silver nanoparticles had been formed in colloidal solution. Cotton fabric was treated with nano-silver colloid by an impregnation method to provide the cotton fabric with antibacterial properties. The whiteness, silver content, antibacterial activity and washing durability of the silver-treated fabrics were determined. The results indicated that the silver-treated cotton fabric showed 99.01 % bacterial reduction of
Staphylococcus aureus
and 99.26 % bacterial reduction of
Escherichia coli
while the silver content on cotton was about 88 mg/kg. The antimicrobial activity of the silver-treated cotton fabric was maintained at over 98.77 % reduction level even after being exposed to 20 consecutive home laundering conditions. In addition, the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed that silver nanoparticles have been fixed and well dispersed on cotton fabrics’ surface and the major state of the silver presented on the surface was Ag
0
.