We used sol-gel hydrosol to impregnate a commercially available cotton fabric with anatase nanoparticles to produce a self-cleaning cotton material. Three different aftertreatment procedures were used to determine the importance of excess sol removal and how the excess sol is removed. This was done by comparing 3 different aftertreatment procedures: plain drying after impregnation at 100 °C, rinsing and consequent drying at 100 °C, and drying at 60 °C followed by a mild hydrothermal treatment at 97 °C. To further compare these aftertreatments, pretreatments were used. The structure and morphology of the prepared samples was analysed by X-ray powder diffraction and high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the UV photodegradation of methyl orange. It was determined that an aftertreatment method that involves enough excess sol removal is quite mandatory with the overall best result being produced by applying a mild hydrothermal aftertreatment method.
1. Kale, B. M., Wiener, J., Militky, J., Rwawiire, S., Mishra, R., Jacob, K. I., et al. Coating of cellulose-TiO2 nanoparticles on cotton fabric for durable photocatalytic self-cleaning and stiffness. Carbohydr. Polym., 2016, 150, 107–113.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.05.006
2. Fouda, M. M. G. Antibacterial modification of textiles using nanotechnology. In A Search for Antibacterial Agents (Bobbarala, V., ed.). InTech, 2012, Chapter 4.
https://doi.org/10.5772/45653
3. Xu, B., Ding, J., Feng, L., Ding, Y., Ge, F., and Cai, Z. Self-cleaning cotton fabrics via combination of photocatalytic TiO2 and superhydrophobic SiO2. Surf. Coat. Tech., 2015, 262, 70–76.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2014.12.017
4. Afzal, S., Daoud, W. A., and Langford, S. J. Superhydrophobic and photocatalytic self-cleaning cotton. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2(42), 18005–18011.
https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TA02764G
5. Nazari, A., Montazer, M., Moghadam, M. B., and Anary-Abbasinejad, M. Self-cleaning properties of bleached and cationized cotton using nanoTiO2: a statistical approach. Carbohydr. Polym., 2011, 83(3), 1119–1127.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2010.09.015
6. Ortelli, S., Costa, A. L., and Dondi, M. TiO2 nanosols applied directly on textiles using different purification treatments. Materials (Basel), 2015, 8(11), 7988–7996.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8115437
7. Zheng, J. Y., Bao, S. H., Guo, Y., and Jin, P. Natural hydrophobicity and reversible wettability conversion of flat anatase TiO2 thin film. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2014, 6(3), 1351–1355.
https://doi.org/10.1021/am404470e
8. Abid, M., Bouattour, S., Conceição, D. S., Ferraria, A. M., Ferreira, L. F. V, do Rego, A. M. B., et al. Hybrid cotton–anatase prepared under mild conditions with high photocatalytic activity under sunlight. RSC Adv., 2016, 6(64), 58957–58969.
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6RA10806G
9. Behzadnia, A., Montazer, M., Rashidi, A., et al. Sonosynthesis of nano TiO2 on wool using titanium isopropoxide or butoxide in acidic media producing multifunctional fabric. Ultrason. Sonochem., 2014, 21(5), 1815–1826.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2014.03.009
10. Qi, K., Wang, X., and Xin, J. H. Photocatalytic self-cleaning textiles based on nanocrystalline titanium dioxide. Text. Res. J., 2011, 81(1), 101–110.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0040517510383618
11. Ding, Z., Hu, X., Yue, P. L., Lu, G. Q., and Greenfield, P. F. Synthesis of anatase TiO2 supported on porous solids by chemical vapor deposition. Catal. Today, 2001, 68(1–3), 173–182.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-5861(01)00298-X
12. Mathur, S. and Kuhn, P. CVD of titanium oxide coatings: comparative evaluation of thermal and plasma assisted processes. Surf. Coat. Tech., 2006, 201(3–4), 807–814.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2005.12.039
13. Negrea, D., Ducu, C., Moga, S., Malinovschi, V., Monty, C. J. A, Vasile, B., et al. Solar physical vapor deposition preparation and microstructural characterization of TiO2 based nanophases for dye-sensitized solar cell applications. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., 2012, 12(11), 8746–8750.
https://doi.org/10.1166/jnn.2012.6814
14. Shimizu, K., Imai, H., Hirashima, H., and Tsukuma, K. Low-temperature synthesis of anatase thin films on glass and organic substrates by direct deposition from aqueous solutions. Thin Solid Films, 1999, 351(1–2), 220–224.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-6090(99)00084-X
15. Hu, Y. and Yuan, C. Low-temperature preparation of photocatalytic TiO2 thin films from anatase sols. J. Cryst. Growth, 2005, 274(3–4), 563–568.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2004.10.146
