Efficient antibacterial durability of ZnO NPs anchored on polyester/cotton surfaces via an embedding strategy

Durable and robust antibacterial fabrics are attracting growing attention due to increasing demands in the medical, feminine products and personal protection fields. Here, we report a simple yet effective method for embedding zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on polyester surfaces to produce an antibacterial polyester-cotton fabric with remarkable laundering and abrasion resistance. The fabric is prepared by pad-rolling, followed by hot-pressing to embed the ZnO nanoparticles onto the polyester fibers. The modified fabric achieves 100% bacterial reduction (BR) rates against both S. aureus and E. coli, exhibiting remarkable laundering durability even after 30 cycles and 600 abrasion cycles. Compared to other strategies using metal nanoparticles for antibacterial fabrics, this preparation is simple, cost-effective, low toxicity, and environmentally friendly, and effectively imparts durable antibacterial properties to fibers. This work represents a practical strategy for developing eco-friendly and cost-effective durable antibacterial textiles.