Functionalizations of viscose fiber via RAFT mechanism and metal ions complexation for antibacteria and chemical removal of formaldehyde with reduced carbon emission effect

Viscose fiber (VF) has been attracting increasing interest owing to its varied advantages like high breathability, high moisture absorption, superior spinning properties, and wear comfort. It can be employed in a multitude of medical applications, including wound care, hygiene products, surgical gowns, sutures, and bed linen. In this paper, RAFT polymerization was utilized to functionalize and modify VF, thereby preparing two kinds of distinct functional materials. The first one is viscose fiber grafted with poly (acrylic acid) and complexed with metal ions (VF-g-PAA-metal ions), which is applied in the domain of antimicrobial. Experimental findings demonstrated that the as-fabricated three composite materials of VF-g-PAA-Ag, VF-g-PAA-Cu, and VF-g-PAA-Zn exhibit significant inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . The second one is viscose fiber grafted with poly (acrylic acid) and then modified with NH 3 + to afford a composite material of VF-g-PAA-NH 3 + , which displays efficient formaldehyde (HCHO) removal efficiency via the formation of an oxime bond (-N=CH 2 ), while generating the only by-product of H 2 O. Our study reveals that 1.0 g of VF-g-PAA-NH 3 + is capable of removing 229.39 mg of HCHO in 24 h at a flow rate of 1.0 L min −1  N 2 at 25 °C. This approach improves the antimicrobial and HCHO removal efficacy of VF. The current novel and environmentally friendly modification strategy not only endows VF materials with antibacterial properties and formaldehyde (HCHO) elimination capabilities, but also exhibits significant environmental compatibility, thereby significantly expanding their applications.