Environmentally friendly procedure for in-situ coating of regenerated cellulose fibres with silver nanoparticles

This study introduces a novel green in-situ procedure for introduction of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on and into cellulose fibres in a three-stage process. First-stage of the process includes the activation of cellulose fibres in alkaline solution, followed by reduction of silver nitrate to Ag NPs in the second stage, while the last stage of process involves washing and neutralization of fibres. Efficiency of the method towards incorporation of silver particles into the fibres' internal structure was characterized; the coatings' morphology and determination of spatial presence of Ag particles were imagining by the scanning electron microscopy and accompanying energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis; prepared fibres have superior durability of particles' coating against washing and excellent antimicrobial activity even after 20 washing cycles. Additionally, the water retention of silver treated fibres was improved, while the mechanical properties were not significantly impaired.