Self-Decontaminating Photocatalytic Textiles: Layer-by-Layer Deposition of Commercial TiO2 References for DMMP Degradation

• Published in: ACS applied engineering materials Vol. 3; no. 7; pp. 1995 - 2006
• Main Authors: Morguen, Maël, Rach, Alain, Colbeau-Justin, Christophe, Robert, Didier, Keller, Valérie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 25.07.2025
• Subjects: photocatalytic textiles; TRMC; commercial TiO2; layer-by-layer; DMMP; organophosphorus agents
• ISSN: 2771-9545; 2771-9545
• DOI: 10.1021/acsaenm.5c00200

Protection against chemical warfare agents (CWA) needs to be improved, and the addition of self-decontaminating properties to passive protective clothes is a promising tool to avoid (cross-)­contamination issues. The purpose of this work was to investigate the layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of photocatalytically active TiO2 nanoparticles over textiles for providing additional organophosphorus degradation properties. Here, it is shown how to control the homogeneous and efficient coverage of textile fibers by finding the optimal conditions of the LbL deposition parameters. Then, various commercial TiO2 references (P25, P90, UV100, PC500, Anatase nanopowder, and Rutile nanopowder from Sigma) differing in their structural, surface, and morphological properties were examined. The resulting functionalized textiles were assessed and compared toward dimethyl methylphosphonate droplets (DMMP, used as an analogue for neurotoxic CWA) photocatalytic degradation under artificial UV irradiation. Preparation/structure/activity correlation of the resulting functionalized textiles highlighted the crucial impact of (i) the surface charges and particle size of TiO2 in the precursor suspension during LbL deposition and (ii) the charge carrier generation and dynamics under UV-A activation (studied by time-resolved microwave conductivity measurements). Finally, we investigated the mechanisms of DMMP degradation over TiO2-functionalized textiles through DMMP elimination kinetics monitoring and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FTIR studies.