Construction of durable antibacterial and anti-mildew cotton fabric based on P(DMDAAC-AGE)/Ag/ZnO composites.

To prepare antibacterial cotton fabrics with laundering durability, an organic-inorganic P(DMDAAC-AGE)/Ag/ZnO composite was synthesized by free radical polymerization where the epoxy groups were utilized to form covalent bonds with the hydroxyl groups of cotton fabrics. The surface morphology, crystal phase and chemical structure of the obtained P(DMDAAC-AGE)/Ag/ZnO composite were characterized by XRD, FT-IR and TEM measurements. The resulting P(DMDAAC-AGE)/Ag/ZnO composite-functionalized cotton fabrics exhibited outstanding antibacterial activity and excellent laundering durability. In the antibacterial tests, the bacteriostatic reduction rate was greater than 99.75%, and remained over 99.00% even after 11 washing cycles (equivalent to 55 commercial or domestic laundering cycles). The antibacterial mechanism was also investigated, partly including release of ions and photocatalysis. Moreover, the coated cotton fabric possessed excellent anti-mildew performance and also maintained the basic properties of cotton fabric. These results suggest that the modified cotton fabrics may find potential applications in a wide variety of areas such as sportswears, socks, and medical textiles.

Poly(quaternary ammonium salt-epoxy) grafted onto Ce doped ZnO composite: An enhanced and durable antibacterial agent.

The composite after referred to as P(DMDAAC-AGE)/(Ce-ZnO) was prepared via free radical polymerization by polymer including quaternary ammonium salt and epoxy group which grafted onto the surface of Ce-ZnO. ZnO nanorods, Ce-ZnO nanorods, P(DMDAAC-AGE), P(DMDAAC-AGE)/ZnO composites, P(DMDAAC-AGE)/(Ce-ZnO) composites and commercial antimicrobials were respectively treated on the cotton fabrics and their biological properties were investigated. There is a synergistic effect between Ce-ZnO and N+ from the polymer in the fabric treated with P(DMDAAC-AGE)/(Ce-ZnO) composite so that it had a better antibacterial activity than pure polymer and pure Ce-ZnO. The antimicrobial rate of fabric treated with P(DMDAAC-AGE)/(Ce-ZnO) composite could reach up to 96%. And in order to investigate the durable ability, the fabric was washed multiple times to simulate the daily use washing. The result showed that the fabric still gave a superior antibacterial performance after 11 cycles (the equivalent of 55 times house laundering). Simultaneously, the differences in the amount of P(DMDAAC-AGE)/(Ce-ZnO) composite deposited on the fibers after washing were also investigated.