Layered double hydroxides functionalized electrospun recycled polyamide 6 from fishing nets: structure–property relationships for antimicrobial non-woven fabrics

Plastic pollution, particularly marine plastic waste from discarded fishing nets, represents a significant environmental challenge and highlights the need for effective strategies to recover and valorize end-of-life polymers. Polyamide 6 (PA6) fishing nets are an underexploited source for the development of high-value functional materials. This work develops antimicrobial non-woven fabrics (NWFs) from recycled PA6 (rPA6) incorporating organo-modified Mg/Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs) intercalated with antimicrobial anions, namely ascorbate (ASA), ferulate (FER), salicylate (SAL), and citrate (CA), into rPA6, followed by electrospinning. The resulting nanofibrous NWFs were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Wide Angle/Small Angle X-ray Scattering with micro-beam (μWAXS/μSAXS), thermal analysis and tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . Homogeneous nanofibers were obtained and LDH incorporation preserved rPA6 chemical structure while reducing crystallinity. rPA6/LDH-FER, rPA6/LDH-ASA, and rPA6/LDH-CA, showed 96.7 to 99.9% bacterial mortality. After thermal aging at 115 °C, LDH-containing NWFs exhibited improved structural stability. These results demonstrate the feasibility of converting recycled PA6 fishing-nets into functional antimicrobial nanofibrous fabrics through LDH functionalization and electrospinning, supporting circular and sustainable applications of marine recycled polyamides.