Title: Silver-titania/polyurethane composite nanofibre mat for chemical and biological warfare protection

Authors: Su-Yeol Ryu; Myung-Kyu Park; Seung-Yeop Kwak

Addresses: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Korea ' Research Division for NBC Protective Technology, Agency for Defense Development, Bugyuseong daero 488 beon gil, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-152, Korea ' Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Korea

Abstract: The silver-titania nanoparticles with various silver contents were prepared by introducing the silver onto titania surface. Presence of silver was confirmed by various analyses. Compared to neat titania nanoparticle, the silver-titania nanoparticle exhibits better visible light photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. Loading of silver onto titania leads to an enhancement of the visible light photocatalytic activity. The nanoparticles show good antimicrobial activities against E. coli. It is due to the loaded silver with excellent antimicrobial activity. Next, the silver-titania spreaded polyurethane composite nanofibre mat (CNM) for protection layer of protective clothing material was prepared using simultaneous process of electrospinning and electrospray. The electrosprayed silver-titania nanoparticles are well dispersed on the surface of polyurethane nanofibres. Compared to neat polyurethane nanofibre mat, the CNM shows a better photocatalytic degradation of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) under visible light and UV-A irradiation for 60 min. The CNM shows good antimicrobial activities against S. aureus.

Keywords: silver titania nanoparticles; nanotechnology; polyurethane nanofibres; electrospinning; electrospray; chemical warfare; biological warfare; antimicrobial activity; E. coli; composite nanofibre mats; protective clothing; photocatalytic degradation; DMMP; S. aureus; Staphylococcus aureus; Escherichia coli.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2013.054217

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2013 Vol.10 No.8/9, pp.771 - 788

Published online: 01 Aug 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article