Multifunctional Textile Constructed via Polyaniline-Mediated Copper Sulfide Nanoparticle Growth for Rapid Photothermal Antibacterial and Antioxidation Applications

Abstract

Antibacterial textiles prepared by the combination of photodynamic and photothermal technologies exhibit potential applications for preventing microbial infections in life. In this paper, the deposition behavior of copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuSNPs) on silk fabric (SF) was regulated by introducing polyaniline (PANI), which can chelate copper(II) ions, aiming at constructing a multifunctional textile with efficient and stable photothermal performances. First, PANI molecules from free-radical polymerization was absorbed to fiber surfaces via intermolecular forces. Subsequently, copper ammonia ions were bonded to the fabric of SF/PANI via chelation actions and further interacted with thiourea loaded by chitosan quaternary ammonium salt, formed the organic–inorganic hybrid of PANI/CuSNPs simultaneously. Finally, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was used to encapsulate fibers for imparting antioxidant and self-cleaning abilities to the photothermal textile. The results reveal that the composite textile of SF/PANI/CuS achieved satisfactory ultraviolet resistance. The inactivation toward Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli reached 99.9% when irradiated for 5 min with a light intensity of 200 mW/cm2, remaining at a similar level even after washing 10 times. Additionally, PDMS encapsulation protects the deposited CuSNPs from air oxidation without sacrificing its photothermal performance. The present work provides a new strategy for developing photothermal antibacterial textiles with efficient, durable, and stable application performances.