Silvering of three-dimensional polyethylene terephthalate textile material by means of wet-chemical processes

Abstract

The aim of this research is to develop a wet-chemical silvering method for a three-dimensional (3D) textile material made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to prevent and eliminate biological contaminants in drinking water and other liquid-containing systems. Three-dimensional textile fabrics are particularly well-suited as silvered disinfection materials in water systems, because they have 3D structures, pressure-elastic textile design, and provide large contact areas. Furthermore, water can easily be passed through the structure. The developed wet-chemical procedures are based on aminosilane, which consists of at least two amine groups and is well-suited to form a silver diamine complex. The silvered textile material was coated with cationic silver. After the chemical reduction, the cationic silver turns into metallic silver on the surface of PET spacer fabrics. The surface morphology of silver-coated spacer fabrics was analyzed and the uniform silver layer on the PET fiber surface was found. X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis spectrums showed that the silver was immobilized on the PET fiber surface. The layer thickness and the silver amount were also determined. The silvered spacer fabrics can be used in sealing and/or cooling water systems; therefore, the silver ion release in water was analyzed. Furthermore, textile physical tests for the measurement of breaking force and elongation were carried out. No significant change in breaking force and elongation was observed after silvering of PET spacer fabric.