Loose yarn of Ag-ZnO-PAN/ITO hybrid nanofibres: Preparation, characterization and antibacterial evaluation

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles-attached zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods on polyacrylonitrile/indium tin oxide (Ag-ZnO-PAN/ITO) nanofibres with three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical nanostructures were facilely prepared via electrospinning followed by hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanorods and silver attachment with the assistance of polydopamine (PDA) thin layer. ZnO nanorods with different dimensions and silver nanoparticles with different loadings were introduced. The morphologies and structures of the nanostructures were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The effect of Ag-ZnO-PAN/ITO nanofibres with different loadings of ZnO nanorods and silver nanoparticles on their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. It is shown that the hybrid nanofibres exhibit excellent antibacterial capability. The hierarchical structure benefits the attachment of a large amount of silver nanoparticles due to its large surface area, and the deposited PDA thin layer helps improve the structure stability for long-term antibacterial application through firmly anchoring silver nanoparticles onto the surface. This work offers an effective and straightforward “all-solution” strategy to incorporate Ag-ZnO combination into nanofibrous PAN. Moreover, the hierarchical nanostructure integrates the antibacterial function of both ZnO and silver, and renders itself a promising candidate as for sportswear and equipment.