Preparation of silver-coated silk fabrics with antibacterial activity using silver carbamate and hydrogen reduction

Abstract

A new method was studied to efficiently metallize silk fabrics, and silver-coated silk fabrics were prepared and characterized. In this study, silver 2-ethylhexylcarbamate was used as the silver precursor, and a hydrogen atmosphere was used to reduce the precursors, thus forming silver nanoparticles on the surface of silk fabric. The silver-coated silk fabric was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and the results confirmed that 20-70 nm silver nanoparticles were uniformly generated without damaging the silk fabric. The silver-coated silk fabric showed excellent ultraviolet blocking properties and antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). This method provides a way to improve the antibacterial ability of silk fabrics while avoiding damage to the silk.