Study On The UV Stability Of TiO₂/N-halamine Antibacterial Materials

N-Halamine compounds and N-halamine antibacterial textiles have received significantinterest due to some advantages of superior antibacterial properties against a broad spectrumof bacteria within brief contact times, regeneration, environment friendly, and durability.However, the poor UV stabilities of some of the N-halamine compounds might limit theirpractical application. To improve the UV stability of siloxanes hydantoin, a N-halamineprecursor, poly[5,5-dimethyl-3-(3’-triethoxysilylpropyl) hydantoin](PSPH), was synthesizedand coated onto the textiles with nano-titania via different treatment processes.The first method was to prepare PSPH/TiO2coated the cotton via ultrasonic. The treatedcotton was characterized with SEM, FT-IR, and XRD. To improve the washing stability ofnano-titania in the coatings of PSPH on the cotton, the second method was to coat cotton withPSPH/TiO2via a refluxing way. The treated cotton was also characterized with SEM, FT-IR,XRD, and XPS. The third method to prepare PSPH/TiO2hybrid material via a sol-gel process,and apply the synthesized materials on the surfaces of cotton. PSPH/TiO2nanocomposites andcotton treated with PSPH/TiO2nanocomposites were characterized with SEM, FT-IR andXRD. The washing stability of nano-TiO2particles loaded in the coatings of N-halaminePSPH was determined and the UV and storage stabilities of PSPH/TiO2in the coatings ofcotton were also evaluated. In addition, the antibacterial efficacies against S. aureus (ATCC6538) and E. coli O157:H7(ATCC43895) were tested according to a modified AATCC100-1999Method.Research results revealed that cotton coated with PSPH/TiO2via these three differenttreatments showed excellent antibacterial properties and could inactivate completely S. aureusand E. coli O157:H7within30min of contact time. Moreover, the UV stability of N-halaminesiloxanes coated cotton as-prepared above was improved dramatically and the storage stabilityof N-halamine siloxanes was also excellent. In addition, the washing stability of the treatedcotton with PSPH/TiO2via refluxing and sol-gel methods was great, and the UV stability ofthe N-halamine siloxanes coated onto cotton was excellent after50washing cycles, whichindicated that nano-titania was bonded to PSPH by chemical bonds. This was alsodemonstrated by XPS.