Antimicrobial silver nanoparticle-photodeposited fabrics for SARS-CoV-2 destruction

Surfaces containing antiviral nanoparticles could play a crucial role in minimizing the virus spread further, specifically for COVID-19. Here in, we have developed a facile and durable antiviral and antimicrobial fabric containing photodeposited silver nanoparticles. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy, and XPS are used to characterize the silver nanoparticles deposited cloth. It is evident that Ag⁰/Ag⁺ redox couple is formed during fabrication, which acts as an active agent. Antiviral testing results show that silver nanoparticles deposited fabric exhibits 97% viral reduction specific to SARS-CoV-2. Besides its excellent antiviral property, the modified fabric also offers antimicrobial efficiency when tested with the airborne human pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli and fungi Aspergillus Niger. The direct photodeposition provides Ag-O-C interaction leads to firmly grafted nanoparticles on fabric allow the modified fabric to sustain the laundry durability test. The straightforward strategy to prepare an efficient antimicrobial cloth can attract rapid large-scale industrial production.