A simple,
cheap, and environment-friendly method is developed to
fabricate antibacterial plastic films or fibers. We report a robust
method to decorate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on plastics or fibers,
which is achieved easily by dipping ultraviolet–ozone (UVO)-treated
plastic films or fibers into a silver nitrate solution under mild
conditions. Apart from silver nitrate, neither a stabilizer nor a
reducing agent is required, and no post-treatment is required to reduce
the Ag+ ions into AgNPs. The only process required is the
pre-treatment of the plastic substrates using UVO under an ambient
condition for their surface activation. Most importantly, the AgNP-coated
plastics show a robust adhesion ability and high bactericidal activity,
more than 99% toward both Gram-negative Escherichia
coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus
aureus. Because the AgNP-decoration on plastic substrates
by UVO-treatment is environmentally benign, highly reproducible, economically
beneficial, and universally acceptable for many kinds of plastic substrates,
it could be widely utilized for producing AgNP-coated plastics suitable
for biological and environmental applications in both academics and
industries.