AgCl/Ag functionalized cotton fabric: An effective plasmonic hybrid material for water disinfection under sunlight

Hybrid Cotton-AgCl were prepared and found to be efficient antimicrobial agents for water disinfection under sunlight irradiation. AgCl was grafted on cotton by alternate immersion in AgNO₃/KCl solutions, followed by a mild hydrothermal treatment. The as-prepared samples were characterized using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, FTIRS and UV–vis ground state diffusion reflection (GSDR) spectroscopy, TGA, ICP and XRF. The microbial inactivation efficiency was tested using Escherichia coli (E. colis) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) as model strains of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, respectively. The as-prepared composites exhibit stronger antibacterial activity against both strains, with complete inactivation (10⁷ cfu mL⁻¹) of Escherichia coli within 15 min. The preparation method is environmentally friendly, facile to scale up and the AgCl/Ag junction is effectively bonded to the cotton fabric materials. These results show that cotton-AgCl is a promising plasmonic biocidal material for water disinfection under sunlight illumination as well as under indoor illumination.