N-halamine Antibacterial Cellulose Fabrics Functionalized with Copoly(acrylamide-maleic anhydride)

A copolymer of acrylamide and maleic anhydride (PAMA) was prepared and coated onto the surface of cotton fabrics through traditional pad-dry-curing process. After exposing to dilute bleaching solution, the amide groups can be transformed to acyclic N-halamine. The optimum finishing condition was obtained by investigating the effect of PAMA concentration, catalyst concentration and curing temperature on the chlorine content loaded onto cotton fabrics. The chlorinated cotton fabrics coated with PAMA showed good antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli, and stable washing efficacy against repeat washing. Also, the anti-wrinkle properties and air permeability can be definitely improved after coating with PAMA.