Silver nanoparticle (AgNP) and AgNP/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite impregnated medical grade polyviscose textile pads were formed using a facile, surface-mediated wet chemical solution-dipping process, without further annealing. Surfaces were sequentially treated in situ with a sodium borohydride (NaBH4) reducing agent, prior to formation, deposition, and fixation of Ag nanostructures and/or rGO nanosheets throughout porous non-woven (i.e., randomly interwoven) fibrous scaffolds. There was no need for stabilising agent use. The surface morphology of the treated fabrics and the reaction mechanism were characterised by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), and scanning electron microscopic (SEM). XRD and EDS confirmed the presence of pure-phase metallic silver. Variation of reducing agent concentration allowed control over characteristic plasmon absorption of AgNP while SEM imaging, EDS, and DLS confirmed the presence of and dispersion of Ag particles, with smaller agglomerates existing with concurrent rGO use, which also coincided with enhanced AgNP loading. The composites demonstrated potent antimicrobial activity against the clinically relevant gram-negative Escherichia coli (a key causative bacterial agent of healthcare-associated infections; HAIs). The best antibacterial rate achieved for treated substrates was 100% with only a slight decrease (to 90.1%) after 12 equivalent laundering cycles of standard washing. Investigation of silver ion release behaviours through inductively coupled plasmon optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and laundering durability tests showed that AgNP adhesion was aided by the presence of the rGO host matrix allowing for robust immobilisation of silver nanostructures with relatively high stability, which offered a rapid, convenient, scalable route to conformal NP–decorated and nanocomposite soft matter coatings.

In situ, time-resolved characterisation of an alginate–acrylamide tough hydrogel dynamic formation process indicate routes to intervention and modification of chemo-physico-mechanical properties.

Reliable and long-lasting water repellency, ideally based on fluorine-free additives, is a desired utility in functional textiles, e.g., for outdoor active wear, workwear, and even protective medical garments. To date, such coating treatments have usually been accomplished by pad-dry-cure, electrolysis, or similar methods that tend to be time-consuming and often yield unsatisfactory coating results. In this study, hydrophobic-coated polyester substrates were prepared using a sonochemical coating process. Comparisons were made between the performances and associated morphological variations of amorphous nano-dimensional silica versus nanocrystalline cupric oxide hydrophobic coatings, which were separately made and successfully loaded, via a random distribution, onto mesoporous polyester-woven fabric substrates. Shorter sonication times seem to allow for retention of preformed morphologies into the subsequent coating patterns. The nanocomposite coatings and their components were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflectance-infrared Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), SEM, scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV–vis, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Raman spectroscopy measurements. Almost all coatings displayed highly hydrophobic static water contact angle valuesfor CuO, these values further increased with time, a rarely reported aging effect thought due to the presence of mixed oxides that likely formed in the coating due to the spallative ultrasonic approach. In addition, the efficacy of these hydrophobic semipermeable fabrics to hexane–water mixture separations, with varying concentrations of Na2SO4, was found to be >99% for optimized membranes, with an associated permeation flux of ∼5.9 ± 2 L m–2 h–1, a water content of ∼0%, and a salt rejection capability of ∼94%. Thus, non-fluorine-containing sonochemical coating formulations and processes are ideal in the coating of soft matter, polymeric textiles.