Preparation of biocidal 4‐ethyl‐4‐(hydroxymethyl)oxazolidin‐2‐one‐based N‐halamine polysiloxane for impregnation of polypropylene in supercritical CO2.

ABSTRACT: A cyclic N‐halamine precursor, 4‐ethyl‐4‐(hydroxymethyl)oxazolidin‐2‐one (EHMO), was synthesized and attached to poly(methylhydrosiloxane) (PMHS) through silane alcoholysis between the OH of EHMO and SiH of PMHS. The alcoholysis product was chlorinated with tert‐butyl hypochlorite to transfer the NH to NCl and obtain an EHMO‐based N‐halamine polysiloxane. The N‐halamine polysiloxane was impregnated into inert polypropylene (PP) fibers and formed a 72 nm coating layer using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) as solvent and swelling reagent at 28 MPa and 50 °C for biocidal application. The overall synthetic procedure and the impregnation process were characterized by FTIR, XPS, and SEM, respectively. The N‐halamine polysiloxane layer on PP imparted potent antibacterial abilities against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli while pristine ones did not exhibit noticeable killing activities. Stability tests showed that the N‐halamine polysiloxane layer was resistant to washing cycles, storage, and UV irradiation and the rechlorination of lost chlorines was good. The strategy of using CO₂‐philic PMHS as carrier polymer and scCO₂ as working solvent for impregnation presents a general and friendly procedure to functionalize inert substrates without the need of chemical linkage and organic solvent. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46624. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]