Low toxic antibacterial application with hydrophobic properties on polyester through facile and clean fabrication of nano copper with fatty acid.

Developing a simple and clean technique for imparting low antibacterial properties with water-repellent application is highly desirable with regarding to the both environmental and economic concerns. Herein, we suggest a facile and green technique to fabricate a novel composite by one-step in situ green creation of copper nanoparticles into the fatty acid absorbed on the polyester fibers for antibacterial and hydrophobic applications. Fourier transforms infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction analysis, Field-emission scanning electron microscope, mapping images and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were performed to characterize the prepared composite. The samples exhibited proper hydrophobic properties with maximum water contact angle of 143°. Furthermore, excellent antibacterial performances (100%) were reported toward both Escherichia coli as a Gram-negative and Staphylococcus aureus as a Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria. MTT test was also used to evaluate the influence of the composite on human skin. The results indicated that the presence of fatty acids as safe and natural materials helps to diminish the cytotoxicity of the nano copper/fatty acids/polyester composite compared to the sample without fatty acids while it maintained very good antibacterial activities. Furthermore, the treatment was associated with an upgrade of mechanical properties and a hardening effect on the hand feeling of the treated samples. The introduced route may contribute to develop a simple and green technique for fabrication of novel polymeric composites in durable and safe antibacterial and superhydrophobic usages.