Nanofiber anchoring graphene oxide/N-halamine nanocomposites to construct multi-dimensional blended yarns for renewable and high-efficiency antibacterial textiles

Abstract

Antibacterial textiles possess a crucial application in personal and public health protection. However, limited by antibacterial materials and processing methods, traditional antibacterial textiles still suffer from low antibacterial efficiency and poor durability. Herein, an preparation strategy of novel multi-dimensional blended yarn with efficient and renewable antibacterial properties was proposed.A precursor of high antibacterial activity N-halamine, 6-phenyl-1,3,5-trialkane-2,4-dione (PTD), was synthesized. PTD was grafted onto polyethyleneimine (PEI)-modified graphene oxide (GO) to form a novel nanocomposite antibacterial material (GO-PEI-PTD) with high active chlorine loading and stability. Utilizing alternating configurations of linear electrostatic spinning modules, GO-PEI-PTD and polyurethane nanofibers were simultaneously sprayed onto cotton webs and further spun into GO-PEI-PTD yarns. GO-PEI-PTD nanosheets are tightly wrapped around nanofibers or entangled in the nanofiber networks, achieving a solid combination of antibacterial agent on the yarn. The prepared antibacterial fabric shows rapid and efficient antibacterial properties. The inhibition rate of E. coli and S. aureus is up to 99.99% after 50 times of washing. High activated chlorine content(3700 ppm) and tensile strength(30.77 MPa) after 10 cycles of chlorination indicate its excellent reusability. The multi-dimensional blended yarn developed by multicomponent alternating electrospinning provides an ideal strategy for the development of high-performance functional textiles.