Facile Fabrication of Durable Antibacterial Cotton Fabric Realized by Thioglycolic Acid and Silver Nanoparticles

In this study, durable antibacterial cotton fabrics were prepared by a simple two-step impregnation method. Firstly, thioglycolic acid (TGA) was grafted onto cotton fabric via esterification with the hydroxyl groups of cellulose, then silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were immobilized on the cotton fabric surface via coordination bonds with the TGA thiol groups. As a result, the mean size of Ag NPs coating on the cotton fabric is around 74 nm, and these functionalized cotton fabrics show superior antibacterial properties and excellent laundering durability. After withstand 50 laundering cycles, the obtained cotton fabrics still showed outstanding bacterial reduction rates (BR) against both S. aureus and E. coli, and the rates are all higher than 97 %. Therefore, this method to prepare antibacterial cotton fabric shows great potential applications in socks, cosmetic, and medical textiles.