In Situ Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles on Flame-Retardant Cotton Textiles Treated with Biological Phytic Acid and Antibacterial Activity

Fabrics were flame-retardant finished using phytic acid, a cost-effective, ecologically acceptable, and easily available flame-retardant finishing chemical. Then, on the surface of the completed fabric, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were grown in situ to minimize Ag NPs aggregation and heterogeneous post-finishing and to increase washing durability. Thus, flame-retardant and antibacterial qualities were added to textiles. The as-prepared textiles were evaluated for their combustion performance, thermal performance, and antibacterial capabilities. At the same time, their microstructures were studied using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The findings indicated that flame-retardant textiles had an excellent launderability (limiting oxygen index = 31% after 20 washing cycles). Meanwhile, Ag NPs-loaded flame-retardant textiles demonstrated self-extinguishing properties, with a limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 27%. Bacteriostatic widths of flame-retardant antibacterial textiles against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were 5.28 and 4.32 mm, respectively, indicating that Ag NPs-loaded flame-retardant fabrics have certain flame-retardant and antibacterial capabilities. SEM and TEM analysis indicated that nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed over Ag NPs-loaded flame-retardant textiles and were around 20 nm in size. When compared to flame-retardant textiles, Ag NPs-loaded flame-retardant fabrics showed varied binding energy of P and N on the surface and Ag ion emergence. Thermogravimetric analysis at various heating rates revealed that the main pyrolysis temperature range of flame-retardant fabrics decreased, while the main pyrolysis temperature range of Ag NPs-loaded flame-retardant fabrics increased; the heating rate influenced the pyrolysis range but not the fabric mass loss. In situ reduction synthesis of Ag NPs-loaded flame-retardant textiles may successfully reduce agglomeration and heterogeneous dispersion of nano-materials during post-finishing.