Study on Multi-Scale Hybrid Antibacterial Agents Applied on Spacecraft for Microbial Control

Abstract

Microbial control is unavoidable in manned space activities due to the participation of astronauts. It is difficult to use traditional methods such as spraying organic disinfectant and ultraviolet sterilization which are often used in the ground for the microbial control on spacecraft. A feasible method is to apply inorganic antibacterial agents with excellent comprehensive properties by combining the synergistic effect of nanotechnology and hybrid structure coupling to spacecraft. In this work，multi-scale hybrid antibacterial agents are obtained by hybridizing n-Ag and n-Cu on T-ZnO and CNTs respectively through thermal decomposition of precursor and reduction of metal ions. The application of multi-scale hybrid antibacterial agents in aluminum alloy，aramid fiber fabric and resin are investigated by means of surface coating，immersion method and activation grafting. The antibacterial rates of the three matrix materials against Escherichia coli，Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans are all up to 99.9%，and the anti-mildew levels against Aspergillus niger and its spores are up to 0. The modified materials have good aging resistance，water resistance and scrub resistance. This method can be widely applied in the aspect of microbial control in deep space exploration.

Keywords

microbial protection / manned spaceflight / antimicrobial / inorganic / hybridization