Surface characterization of textiles modified by copper and zinc oxide nano-antimicrobials

Colloids of antimicrobial metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) were electrochemically prepared and then used as surface modifiers for industrial batches of textiles. Different surface loadings could be easily deposited on the surface of the products of interest in order to inhibit the growth of microbes such as bacteria. Surface chemical characterization was performed using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy technique to quantitatively assess the materials' surface chemical composition. Moreover, the NP chemical speciation was evaluated and correlated to the electrosynthesis characteristics, processing conditions, and textiles storage time. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was employed to quantify the metal ions release in a proper contact solution in order to correlate the surface and bulk availability of NPs with the antimicrobial efficacy. Promising spectroscopic results strongly support future real-life applications in different fields. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.