Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #291032

Title: Silver-cotton nanocomposite via in-situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles in self-controlling microfibrillar reactor

Author
item Nam, Sunghyun
item Condon, Brian

Submitted to: American Chemical Society National Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/20/2012
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are effective antimicrobial agents, but their application on the surface of a fiber renders them ineffective because Ag NPs are washable. In this study, a stable, non-leaching Ag-cotton nanocomposite was produced by the in-situ formation of Ag NPs in the microfibrillar structure of cotton. In an aqueous solution, [Ag(NH3)2]+ ions were diffused into the microfibrils of alkali-swollen cotton and assembled on the cellulose surface by their electrostatic interaction with cellulose oxyanions. Reduction reaction by ascorbic acid and following particle growth were controlled by the microfibrillar channel flow, generating mono-dispersed NPs without the aid of a stabilizer at room temperature. TEM images confirmed the in-situ formation of Ag NPs (21'4 nm), which were uniformly dispersed in the entire cross-section of the fiber.