Facile Preparation of Antibacterial Plastisol/Ag Composites Based on Silver Carbamate and Their Properties

The diverse applications of PVC plastisol have been recognized and research has become robust due to development of new plasticizers having low toxicity and degradability. In this study, we prepared plastisol/silver nanoparticles foamed composites based on silver carbamate complex and expandable microsphere. AgNPs used in the plastisol were in-situ synthesized by thermal reduction of silver carbamate during expansion of microsphere and curing of plastisol, where the average size of the AgNPs was 20-50 nm. To obtain coatings of plastisol/Ag composites, a silkscreen printing technique over a cotton textile substrate was used. The formation of the AgNPs was easily monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy and characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD and EDS. The expanded plastisol/Ag composites showed excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This method provides facile and effective way to prepare antibacterial plastisol/Ag composites without any inorganic ions and additives such as surfactant and reductant and show a great deal of potential as designed materials for sanitized plastisol applications.