Surface modification of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film by gamma-ray induced grafting of poly(acrylic acid) and its application in antibacterial hybrid film

Acrylic acid (AA) was facilely grafted onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film through gamma-ray induced graft copolymerization. Silver nanoparticles produced by the chemical reduction of silver ions were then immobilized by carboxylic anions and embedded on the surface of PET-g-PAA film. It was found that the DG of PAA on PET film increases with the absorbed dose and would finally control the amount of loaded silver nanoparticles. The prepared PET-g-PAA/Ag hybrid films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The bactericidal activity of the PET-g-PAA/Ag hybrid film was evaluated by the efficiency of killing Escherichia coli. The results showed that the PET-g-PAA/Ag hybrid film has a strong and stable antibacterial activity.