SEM XPS Analysis of Antimicrobial Fabric Application Note

Textiles are ubiquitous across all areas of life, so there is naturally an ongoing interest in their improvement. Functionalization imparts these materials with various desirable properties such as decreased flammability, water repellency, stain resistance, strengthening, and/or antimicrobial properties, just to name a few.

For medical textiles, functionalization typically focuses on either increasing their antimicrobial properties, increasing their biocompatibility, or both. This can be achieved through a variety of means, including the application of coatings as well as treatment with various additives such as nanoparticles.

In this case study, the Thermo Scientific Correlative Imaging and Surface Analysis (CISA) Workflow is used to analyze polypropylene fabrics modified with copper nanoparticles. CISA combines X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to provide both chemical characterization and imaging of sample surfaces. For functionalized textiles, it is critical to understand the changes that occur at the surface during treatment. XPS provides clear, unambiguous chemical identification of material surfaces, and is an ideal technique for such studies.