Study of incorporation of silver nanoparticles onto PE-g-PAAc nonwoven fabric by γ-irradiation for water treatment

•Grafting of AAc onto PE nonwoven fabric was carried out by γ-ray pre-irradiation.•Grafting degree of 20–30% PAAc onto PE fabric was suitable for AgNPs incorporation.•PE-g-PAAc/AgNPs membrane filter shows strong antimicrobial activity.•The release of silver into water filtrate was less than 0.1 mg/L.•PE-g-PAAc/AgNPs filter can be potentially applied for water and air treatment.

Polyethylene nonwoven (PE) fabric was grafted with acrylic acid (PE-g-PAAc) by the γ-ray pre-irradiation process. The effect of dose and acrylic acid concentration on the grafting degree was investigated. The dose of about 20–30 kGy, acrylic acid concentration of 20–30%, and the reaction time of about 2 h at ∼90 °C were selected as suitable parameters for grafting. The PE-g-PAAc fabric was then impregnated in colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) solution for incorporating AgNPs. The resultant PE-g-PAAc/AgNPs fabric containing ∼10,000 ppm AgNPs exhibits high antimicrobial activity (η>99%) against Escherichia coli in water. The release of silver into water filtrate determined by ICP-MS was less than 0.1 mg/L. The PE-g-PAAc/AgNPs fabric can be potentially applied for water and/or air treatment as an antimicrobial membrane filter.