Antimicrobial finishing of cotton textile with nanosized silver colloids synthesized using polyethylene glycol

The bacterial inactivation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on antimicrobial cotton textiles was investigated under different experimental conditions with novel, stable Ag colloids fixed on cotton textiles, which were synthesized using short-chain polyethylene glycol as a solvent and stabilizer, as well as a different coreducing agent. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that stable, spherical metal particles, 3-20 nm in diameter with a well-crystallized structure, were obtained by using ascorbic acid as a coreducing agent. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicated that only one state of silver was present on the surface of the antimicrobial textile. The antimicrobial test results showed that the treated textile has an excellent antimicrobial effect and laundering durability.