Covalent immobilization of benzalkonium bromide on polyethylene by hyperthermal-hydrogen induced-crosslinking

[Display omitted] •Hyperthermal-hydrogen was first employed as an initiator to covalently immobilize quaternary ammonium salt to prepare antibacterial surface.•UVO intermediate process tuned the compatibility between PE surface and quaternary ammonium salts.•Precise bombardment particles dose and energy control selectively cleaved the C-H bond while minimizing surface damage.•Even after accelerated labilization test by ultrasound intervention, benzalkonium bromide covalently coupled PE film maintained excellent chemical and antibacterial properties in comparison with original. Covalent immobilization in functional surface modification is a prerequisite for durability and functional-integrity in many applications. This work devises an innovative surface treatment using the hyperthermal-hydrogen induced-crosslinking technique to prepare a long-lasting antibacterial film in which chemical bonds are established between the antibacterial benzalkonium bromide (BB) molecule and polyethylene macromolecule (PE). Briefly, PE film is firstly pretreated by UV-Ozone (UVO) to raise the surface energy of PE for driving adsorption of BB. Then hyperthermal hydrogen bombardment is used to cleave C-H bonds at the interface of PE-BB for accomplishing colvalent immobilization of BB. The chemical structure, morphology, thermal properties, barrier and antimicrobial properties of the resultant BB-grafted-PE (PE-g-BB) films are examined to verify covalent immobilization. Even after 60 min accelerated labilization test by ultrasound intervention, the modified film maintained excellent microorganism inhibition and antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus with respective R values of 1.6 and 3.0.