Microwave-assisted synthesis of silver nanoparticles on cotton fabric modified with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane

In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized on cotton fabric modified with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) using sodium citrate as a reducing/stabilizing agent by microwave-assisted process. The presence of a highly oriented amino-terminated self-assembled monolayer and formation of APTMS was demonstrated by an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The silver-coated cotton fabrics were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). UV protection, antistatic, and hydrophobic properties were also evaluated. The results show that silver-coated fabric modified with APTMS possesses excellent antistatic, UV protection with ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 396.5 and superhydrophobic properties with contact angle of 153.2°. APTMS pretreatment improves the adhesive strength between silver coatings and cotton fabric. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3862–3868, 2013