Preparation and Properties of Antibacterial Aldehyde-tanned Transparent Leather

Antibacterial aldehyde-tanned transparent leather was obtained from modified glutaraldehyde (GTW)-tanned sheepskin by introducing acrylic acid monomer and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) via impregnation followed by the in-situ free radical polymerization under thermally initiated conditions. The micro-morphology, structural composition, thermal stability and physical properties of the GTW-tanned transparent leather were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetry/differential thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry and universal testing machine. The results show that the GTW-tanned transparent leather has good physical properties with toughness strength up to 6 MJ/m³ and breaking stress of 21.4 MPa. The highest transmittance of GTW-tanned transparent leather was observed at 550 nm, which was close to 80%, using UV-visible near-infrared (NIR) photometer, and it had good transparency. In addition, the average softness of GTW-tanned transparent leather was 4.6 mm⁻¹, and the introduction of AgNPs conferred excellent antimicrobial properties and biocompatibility to GTW-tanned transparent leather.