Physical Vapor Deposition Technology in Personal Protective Equipment Production: Improved Antibacterial and Hydrophobic Character of Textiles

Abstract

Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been adapted as biological threats have emerged, such as increasingly drug-resistant bacteria and the emergence of new viruses such as Covid-19. PPE must be increasingly resilient to prevent the proliferation of pathogens, but using sustainable raw materials and environmentally friendly technologies. The aim of this study is to show a new way of modifying the surface of various types of fabrics to enable their efficient use as PPE. The Ag/DLC coating was successfully deposited by sputtering onto several types of textiles using different chemical compositions of Ag/DLC (0, 8, 10, and 12Ag). As a crucial parameter, wettability was evaluated, showing that silver addition increases the hydrophobicity character of the coated fabrics, namely in cotton, changing from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity were evaluated on all coatings, revealing that they are efficient in eliminating the spread of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and pose no risk to the human body. The results presented here are promising in protecting healthcare workers, with the next steps being to study the efficiency of these coatings against viruses. In addition, this study reveals an opportunity to use sustainable fabrics, such as cotton, with high efficiency in protection against pathogens, instead of synthetic fiber textiles.

Field Modeling of the Influence of Defects Caused by Bending of Conductive Textronic Layers on Their Electrical Conductivity

“…The production of electrically conductive structures in this technology requires the design of systems at the initial stage of fabric production. Other technologies that enable the production of electrically conductive structures on existing materials include embroidery [ 12 ], screen printing [ 13 ], inkjet printing [ 14 , 15 ], electroless coating [ 16 ], electroconductive coating [ 17 ], chemical vacuum deposition (CVD) [ 18 ], sputtering [ 19 , 20 , 21 ], and physical vacuum deposition (PVD) [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Physical vacuum deposition methods include cathodic arc deposition, sputtering, ion plating [ 25 , 26 ], or thermal deposition [ 23 ].…”

“…The PVD technique uses various physical phenomena, such as sputtering, sublimation (evaporation), or sputtering, which are intensified by additional reactive processes (using reactive gases that contribute to the formation of a layer of high hardness), activation (by activating the ionization processes of gases and vapors metals), or both [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. The connection at the interface between the coating and the surface of the tool is adhesive (rarely, adhesive-diffusion), and its strength is largely determined by the cleanliness of the coated surface.…”