Quantax 200 esprit 1

For SEM-EDX analysis, the cross sections were mounted to an SPI Supplies Zeiss aluminum slot head stub (12.7 × 3.1 mm²) with SPI Supplies double-sided carbon tabs (12 mm diameter). (SPI Supplies, West Chester, PA, USA) SPI Supplies conductive carbon paint (20% w/w colloidal graphite in isopropanol) was applied on the side and top surfaces of the casting media, without covering the cross-sectional surface itself to prevent charging effects. The samples were examined using a Zeiss EVO MA15 scanning electron microscope with LaB₆ source at an accelerating voltage of 20 kV for the electron beam, a working distance of approximately 8 mm, and a sample tilt of 0° (Carl Zeiss Industrielle, Oberkochen, Germany). The EDS data were collected with the Bruker Nano X-flash^® detector 6|30 and analyzed with Quantax 200/Esprit 1.9 software (Bruker Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA).

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by chemical reduction in situ of AgNO₃ using NaBH₄ as reducing agent. Equation (2) shows the chemical reaction:
Pristine and hydrogel grafted PET fabrics of 1.5 cm × 1.5 cm were swollen in distilled water for five days; after that, samples were soaked in 5 mL of a AgNO₃ solution (0.005 M); one day later, the pieces of fabrics were transferred into 5 mL of NaBH₄ solution (0.01 M) at 0 °C. The fabrics were stirred gently for 2 h while cooling with an ice bath; finally, the solution was decanted, and the fabrics were washed with deionized water.
The presence of AgNPs on modified PET fabrics was determined semi-quantitatively by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), by mapping measurements on surface and cross-sections using a Bruker XFlash Detector 4010 (Berlin, Germany). For surface analysis, samples of 5 mm × 5 mm were cut and fixed on sample holder with a double-sided graphite tape and for cross-section analysis, samples were prepared as described previously for SEM analysis. EDS information was processed using Quantax 200 ESPRIT 1.9 software (Bruker Nano GmbH, Berlin, Germany).