Self-cleaning and Antibacterial Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles on Cotton Fabric Treated with Maleic Acid

Abstract

Bi-functional finishes of cotton such as wrinkle resistance with antibacterial and self-cleaning are important in textile industry. In this case, reducing cost and duration of processing is essential. For this purpose, cotton fabric was treated with different concentrations of maleic acid (MA), sodium hypophosphite (NaH₂PO₂) and Zno nanoparticles in two methods of  separately and simultaneously. Crease recovery angle and weight gain tests were examined. For measuring carboxylic acid groups of maleic acid treated cotton fabrics, methylene blue dye was used, and then, reflective spectrophotometer was used to determine methylene blue dye absorption .Self-cleaning and antibacterial properties of ZnO nanoparticles treated cotton fabric were investigated.  For measuring zinc amount, atomic absorption analysis was applied. As the Maleic acid concentration increased, weight gain, crease recovery angle and color yield increased. Color difference or self-cleaning effect of treated fabrics showed that by increasing maleic acid concentration, color difference increased in separate method. In simultaneous treatment, by increasing MA concentration and cross-linked sites, there was a slight increase in ∆E and self-cleaning effect. Results indicated that ZnO nanoparticles amount in separate method of treatment increased as compared with simultaneous method. Antibacterial performance decreased for simultaneous method of ZnO nanoparticles treatment.