Radiation synthesis of silver nano- and microparticles in cellulose fibers

Polymer nanocomposites containing metal nanoparticles have attracted a great interest due to their unique chemical and physical properties. “Green” chemistry promotes application of natural fibers in such structures, among them cellulose is one of the most frequently used. However, cellulose fabric have ability to absorb moisture, so under certain conditions of humidity and temperature they can be subjected to microbial attack. One of the most popular and best known antibacterial agents is silver, which serves as a potential antibacterial material acting against an exceptionally broad spectrum of bacteria including activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were grown at the cellulose fibers surface by direct reduction of AgNO3 with electron beam (EB) application. Nanocomposites obtained according to the method described in the text were investigated with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope with back-scattered electrons detector (SEM-BSE) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) as well as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in order to determine influence of different size silver particles on fibers thermal properties.