Antibacterial improvement of leather by surface modification using corona discharge and silver nanoparticles application

One of the significant problems of used natural leather shoes is the growth of bacteria which contributes to the unpleasant smell during use. In this study, an attempt was made to improve the antibacterial property of cow and goat leather by surface modification using corona discharge. The corona discharge surface modification was performed at different stages of the oiling process. The effectiveness of the different process was evaluated using two representative bacteria named S. aureus and E. coli. The atom absorption and FTIR results indicated that the silver nanoparticles adhere better on the modified corona discharged leather compared to unworked leather. The microbial experiments also revealed that the antibacterial property in the modified corona discharged leather is better than the unworked leather which indicates the essentiality of the corona discharged process. In addition the goat leather which was initially treated with corona discharge process showed better antibacterial property compared to the cow leather. The reduction in bacterial growth indirectly reflects the ability of the corona discharge process to reduce the unpleasant smell of leather