Current metal nanomaterials for developing nanofunctional textiles are mostly based on metal nanoparticles (NPs) that show aqueous instability, a tendency to aggregate, and low chemical affinity to biomass textiles, leading to low nano-metal uptake during finishing, significant declines in function, and nano-pollution. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy to transform metal (Ag, Au, and Pt) NPs into homogenous hyperbranched poly(amide-amine) (HBPAA)-encapsulated NPs showing high water solubility, oxidative resistance, and affinity to biomass materials upon surface capping with HBPAA. The proposed method represents a universal, simple, clean, and efficient self-assembly technology to produce monolayered Ag–Au–Pt ternary-coated biomass textiles. The combination of Ag, Au, and Pt NPs yields a positive potential of approximately +37.12 mV depending on the metal concentration and could simultaneously self-assemble onto natural fibers, including cotton, silk, and wool, through the one-step impregnation of textiles. Increasing the temperature and concentration of the mixture favors the self-assembly process. A mixture of 30–110 mg/L Ag, Au, and Pt NPs could nearly completely anchor onto cotton, silk, and wool textiles after impregnation at 100 °C for 1 h without chemical assistance, thereby indicating the possibility of clean production. As-prepared functional cotton, silk, and wool possessed similarly high antibacterial activities, and a mixture containing over 1500 mg/g NPs inhibited 99% of the Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the sample textiles. The developed coating technology is simple, clean, controllable, and broadly applicable; thus, it could be potentially applied in functional textiles.

Microbiological protection textile materials played an important role in the battle against the epidemic. However, the traditional active antimicrobial treatment of textiles suffers from narrow textile applicability, low chemical stability, and poor washability. Here, a high-strength adhesive nanosilver glue was synthesized by introducing nontoxic water-soluble polyurethane glue as a protectant. The as-prepared nanosilver glue could adhere firmly to the fiber surfaces by forming a flexible polymer film and could encapsulate nanosilver inside the glue. The as-prepared nanosilver had a torispherical structure with diameter of ~22 nm, zeta potential of −42.7 mV, and good dispersibility in water, and it could be stored for one year. Further studies indicated that the nanosilver glue had wide applicability to the main fabric species, such as cotton and polyester fabric, surgical mask, latex paint, and wood paint. The antimicrobial cotton and polyester fabrics were prepared by a simple impregnation–padding–baking process. The corresponding antimicrobial activity was positively correlated with nanosilver content. The treated fabrics (500 mg/kg) exhibited ultrahigh washing resistance (maintained over 99% antibacterial rates for 100 times of standard washing) and wear resistance (99% antibacterial rates for 8000 times of standard wearing), equivalent breathability to untreated fabric, improved mechanical properties, and good flexibility, demonstrating a potential in cleanable and reusable microbiological protection textiles.

Nanofiber membrane has high biological protection function because of its good waterproof and moisture permeability properties. However, this membrane usually lacks active antimicrobial properties, limiting the application in reusable bioprotective textiles. Herein, waterborne polyurethane-capped Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by reducing silver nitrate in water by sodium borohydride in the presence of polyurethane. AgNP-embedded thermoplastic urethane (TPU) nanofiber membrane was prepared by electrospinning a mixed solution of AgNPs and TPU. As-prepared membranes with Ag content of 50–300 mg·kg−1 have an average diameter of 0.75, 0.64, and 0.63 μm and good fiber uniformity. The doping of AgNP-embedded nanomembrane showed increased breaking force probably because of the induced crystallization effect. Test results showed that as-prepared TPU nanofiber membrane with silver content as low as 100 mg·kg−1 showed good washing resistance. The antibacterial rates of E. coli and S. aureus remained 99.99% with 50 times of soaping or chlorine washing. The corresponding waterproof and moisture permeability properties of nanofiber membrane with a thickness of 0.1 mm remained nearly unchanged, i.e., moisture permeability of around 2600 g·m−2 per 24 h and the hydrostatic pressure resistance of around 400 Pa after 50 times of soaping or chlorine washing.

The clean production and washing resistance of nano-coating have always been common issues in nano-functional polyester textiles because of the dense structure and chemically inert surface. Here, we developed a clean treatment strategy for preparing washable silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-coated polyester fibers through high-temperature, high-pressure hydrothermal self-assembly of AgNPs in polyester fibers. AgNPs with high affinity to polyester were prepared through the hydrothermal reduction of AgNO3 by hyperbranched poly(amide-amine)s. The as-prepared spherical AgNPs possessed a uniform particle size (∼7.52 nm), a positive charge (zeta potential of +54.52 mV), and good dispersibility and chemical stability at 110–130°C. The optimal clean treatment conditions had Ag concentrations of 1–50 mg/L, impregnation time of 2 h, and impregnation temperature of 110°C. Therefore, the Ag content of polyester fibers in the range 0–2,500 mg/kg could be precisely controlled. The as-prepared polyester fibers exhibited excellent antibacterial activities and washing resistance and low Ag release (0.00024% for 24 h). Even when the Ag content was as low as ∼50 mg/kg, the corresponding bactericidal rates increased to 99.99% for Escherichia coli and 99.93% for Staphylococcus aureus. The sample containing ∼200 mg/kg of Ag could achieve up to a 99.99% bactericidal rate for E. coli and 99.9% for S. aureus even after 50 standard washes.

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