Ultraviolet-Ozone-Activation-Driven Ag Nanoparticles Grown on Plastic Substrates for Antibacterial Applications

A simple, cheap, and environment-friendly method is developed to fabricate antibacterial plastic films or fibers. We report a robust method to decorate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on plastics or fibers, which is achieved easily by dipping ultraviolet-ozone (UVO)-treated plastic films or fibers into a silver nitrate solution under mild conditions. Apart from silver nitrate, neither a stabilizer nor a reducing agent is required, and no post-treatment is required to reduce the Ag+ ions into AgNPs. The only process required is the pre-treatment of the plastic substrates using UVO under an ambient condition for their surface activation. Most importantly, the AgNP-coated plastics show a robust adhesion ability and high bactericidal activity, more than 99% toward both Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. Because the AgNP-decoration on plastic substrates by UVO-treatment is environmentally benign, highly reproducible, economically beneficial, and universally acceptable for many kinds of plastic substrates, it could be widely utilized for producing AgNP-coated plastics suitable for biological and environmental applications in both academics and industries.