Durability of nano ZnO antibacterial cotton fabric to sweat

Abstract In this article, an innovative method was put forward to evaluate the endurance of nano ZnO finished fabrics to sweat. The atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the concentration of zinc in immersion liquor, and at the same time, SEM experiments and biocidal tests were chosen to characterize the antibacterial performance. Half‐life time ( t 1/2 ) of zinc concentration on the fabric was introduced to evaluate the durability to sweat. The results indicated that nano ZnO antibacterial cotton fabric was relatively sensitive to acid artificial sweat while durable in saline or alkaline solution, the t 1/2 exceeded 3000 min in them. SEM characterization and biocidal tests showed the same behavior. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103:412–416, 2007