Hydrophobicities and antibacterial activities of silicone polyester/titanium dioxide composites on nylon fabrics after argon plasma treatment

In this study, we blended silicone, polyethylene glycols, and TiO2 to obtain TiO2 composites that we then coated onto nylon fabric, which we had subjected to Ar plasma treatment. Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopic characterization revealed that our PEG-silicone-TiO2 composites were more resistant to plasma treatment than were the TiO2-free systems. We used scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to observe the surface morphologies and surface element compositions and dispersions of these composites on the nylon fabric before and after plasma treatment. Contact angle tests revealed the variations in wetting induced by the different hydrophilic PEG-silicone-TiO2 composites. The use of higher-molecular-weight PEG-silicone-TiO2 resulted in the largest contact angle (> 120A degrees), providing products with better water-repellency. In addition, we investigated the antibacterial properties of nylon fabric toward Staphylococcus aureus; after Ar plasma surface treatment, the hydrophobic surface of the fabric retained its antibacterial activity.