Photo induced silver on nano titanium dioxide as an enhanced antimicrobial agent for wool

In this study an effective nanocomposite antimicrobial agent for wool fabric was introduced. The silver loaded nano TiO2 as a nanocomposite was prepared through UV irradiation in an ultrasonic bath. The nanocomposite was stabilized on the wool fabric surface by using citric acid as a friendly cross-linking agent. The treated wool fabrics indicated an antimicrobial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. Increasing the concentration of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite led to an improvement in antibacterial activities of the treated fabrics. Also increasing the amount of citric acid improved the adsorption of Ag/TiO2 on the wool fabric surface leading to enhance antibacterial activity. The EDS spectrum, SEM images, and XRD patterns was studied to confirm the presence of existence of nanocomposite on the fabric surface. The role of both cross-linking agent and nanocomposite concentrations on the results was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.