Functional finishing of cotton fabrics using zinc oxide–soluble starch nanocomposites

TLDR

The study aims to functional finish cotton fabrics with zinc oxide–soluble starch nanocomposites to provide antibacterial and UV‑protective properties. Nano‑ZnO was synthesized by reacting zinc nitrate with sodium hydroxide in water in the presence of soluble starch, which strongly adsorbs at 361 nm due to quantum confinement, and the resulting nanocomposite was impregnated onto cotton fabrics. The nano‑ZnO particles were 38 ± 3 nm in size, contained 37.57 % starch, and when impregnated onto cotton fabrics conferred strong antibacterial activity against *Staphylococcus aureus* and *Klebsiella pneumoniae* while markedly improving UV protection relative to untreated cotton.

Abstract

Zinc oxide–soluble starch nanocomposites (nano-ZnO) synthesized using water as a solvent and soluble starch as a stabilizer is impregnated onto cotton fabrics to impart antibacterial and UV-protection functions. Nano-ZnO synthesized by reacting zinc nitrate with sodium hydroxide in the presence of soluble starch absorbed strongly at 361 nm due to the quantum confinement effect. The average size of ZnO nanoparticles is estimated to be 38 ± 3 nm using a transmission electron microscope (TEM); this was confirmed by x-ray diffraction analysis and the effective mass approximation method. The starch content in synthesized nano-ZnO was estimated to be 37.57% using thermo-gravimetric analysis. The nano-ZnO impregnated cotton fabrics showed excellent antibacterial activity against two representative bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram negative). Also, nano-ZnO impregnation enhanced the protection of cotton fabrics against UV radiation in comparison with the untreated cotton fabrics.