Ag nanoparticle–ZnO nanowire hybrid nanostructures as enhanced and robust antimicrobial textiles via a green chemical approach

A new approach for fabrication of a long-term and recoverable antimicrobial nanostructure/textile hybrid without increasing the antimicrobial resistance is demonstrated. Using in situ synthesized Ag nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on ZnO nanowires (NWs) grown on textiles by a ‘dip-in and light-irradiation’ green chemical method, we obtained ZnONW@AgNP nanocomposites with small-size and uniform Ag NPs, which have shown superior performance for antibacterial applications. These new Ag/ZnO/textile antimicrobial composites can be used for wound dressings and medical textiles for topical and prophylactic antibacterial treatments, point-of-use water treatment to improve the cleanliness of water and antimicrobial air filters to prevent bioaerosols accumulating in ventilation, heating, and air-conditioning systems.

Zhou Li, Haoying Tang, Weiwei Yuan, Wei Song, Yongshan Niu, Ling Yan, Min Yu, Ming Dai, Siyu Feng, Menghang Wang, Tengjiao Liu, Peng Jiang, Yubo Fan and Zhong Lin Wang

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