Preparation and characterization of functional fabrics from bamboo charcoal/silver and titanium dioxide/silver composite powders and evaluation of their antibacterial efficacy

Bamboo charcoal supporting silver (BC/Ag) and titanium dioxide supporting silver (TiO2/Ag) were prepared by activation and chemical reduction. The BC/Ag and TiO2/Ag composites were characterized by silver particle size and distribution and antibacterial properties. The pore and surface properties were studied in terms of BET volumetric measurement with nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antibacterial effects of the BC/Ag and TiO2/Ag composite powders were assessed from the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs), and an excellent antibacterial performance was discovered. Moreover, these composite powders were deposited via immersion coating onto fabrics (nonwoven and carbon fibers) to improve the antibacterial efficacy and to act as a biologically-protective material. The antibacterial activities of the fabrics supported by BC/Ag and TiO2/Ag were studied in zone of inhibition and plate counting tests against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus ME/GM/TC Resistant, Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosae (CTZ&EM&GM) Res. Clin. Isol., Escherichia coli Juhl, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The results showed that fabric-BC/Ag and fabric-TiO2/Ag possess a strong antibacterial activity and an inhibitory effect on the growth of these bacteria and are therefore believed to have great potential for use as antibacterial fabrics.