Study of Antibacterial Activity and Dyeability Property of PET/Cotton Fabrics Coated Ag/SiO2 Nanocomposites

In present study, two components of Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite were prepared by the Sonochemical method and then the PET/cotton fabric treated with Ag/SiO2 nanoparticles (Ag/SiO2 NPs) by Pad-Dry method. The treated fabric dyed at the optimum condition with direct dyes. The influence of the Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite on the performance of PET/cotton fabric was investigated by the use of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDX) and reflectance spectrophotometer (RS). TEM images of Ag/SiO2 showed the particles size were 30-70 nm. SEM results of Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite powders show that nanoscale particles are well formed, also SEM micrograph of treated fabrics indicated that the nanoparticles were well dispersed on the surface of sample. EDX results showed the presence of nanoparticles increased on the surface of samples with increase concentration of colloid solution nanoparticles. The antibacterial properties were determined by reduction growth of a Gram-negative bacterium E. coli and a Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Photo-catalytic activities of the coated PET/cotton fabric were evaluated through the degradation of methylene blue under UV irradiation.