Improvement of Odor Elimination and Anti-bacterial Activity of Polyester Fabrics Finished with Composite Emulsions of Nanometer Titanium Dioxide-silver Particles-water-borne Polyurethane

摘要

Abstract In this study, two bacteria and three odorous chemicals were employed to assess the anti-bacterial activity and the odor elimination abilities of fabric samples finished with nanometer titanium dioxideanometer silver/water-borne polyurethane (nano-TiO^sub 2^ano-Ag/WBPU) composite emulsions. It was found that the value of odor elimination, ultraviolet light transmission, and anti-bacteria for the mixture of nano-TiO^sub 2^ and nano-Ag was higher than the summed value for the individual nano- TiO^sub 2^ and nano-Ag. The odor elimination ability for individual nano-TiO^sub 2^ was better than that for individual nano-Ag, but the anti-bacterial activity was found to follow the opposite trend. The mechanisms of the free radical formation for nano-TiO^sub 2^-Ag+ have been discussed, suggested and confirmed with the investigation of the energy gap and conductivity values for the individual and the mixed particles of nano-TiO^sub 2^ and nano-Ag. The loss of the anti-bacterial activity for the fabrics finished with the mixture of nano-TiO^sub 2^ and nano-Ag was less than 6% and 13% after 15 times' washing and 3000 times' abrasion, respectively. The practicability of the fabrics finished with nano-TiO^sub 2^ano-Ag/WBPU composite emulsions was strongly supported by the excellent properties of odor elimination, anti-bacteria, washing fastness and abrasion resistance.