Nano-bio finishing of cotton fabric with quaternized chitosan Schiff base-TiO2-ZnO nanocomposites for antimicrobial and UV protection applications

• Published in: European polymer journal Vol. 166; p. 111040
• Main Authors: Refaee, Ayaat A., El-Naggar, Mehrez E., Mostafa, Tahia B., Elshaarawy, Reda F.M., Nasr, Ali M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 05.03.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial and UV-protected fabrics; Biomedical materials; Chitosan; Cotton fabrics; Cotton fibers; Density; E coli; Fabrics; Imines; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Quaternized chitosan Schiff base; Textiles; TiO2-ZnO nanocomposites; Titanium dioxide; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxides; Antimicrobial and UV-protected fabrics; TiO2-ZnO nanocomposites; Quaternized chitosan Schiff base
• ISSN: 0014-3057; 1873-1945
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2022.111040

[Display omitted] •Ammonium-salicylidene chitosan Schiff base (ASCSB) was prepared and characterized.•New ternary nanocomposites based on ASCSB, TiO2, and ZnO nanoparticles were in-situ fabricated.•New ternary nanocomposites (NC1,2) were applied for treating cotton fabrics.•The treated cotton fibers demonstrated excellent antimicrobial impacts on different pathogens.•The ZnO-rich nanocomposite endowed fabrics with more UV protection than TiO2-rich one. The purpose of this work is to offer a novel approach to designing multifunctional technical cotton textiles by coating them with smart bio-materials. Two different ternary nanocomposites (NC1, NC2) comprising (ammonium-salicylidene) chitosan Schiff base (ASCSB), TiO2, and ZnO nanoparticles were in-situ prepared and applied for treating cotton fibers using the facile pad-dry-cure process to impart antimicrobial and ultraviolet protection characteristics. Notably, NC1 is TiO2-rich, while NC2 is rich in ZnO. The physicochemical and visual characteristics of the new nanocomposites and the treated fabrics were investigated by spectral, microscopic, and thermal methods. The as-prepared NC1 exhibited a more homogeneous distribution, higher depositing density and smaller mean nanoparticle size (48 nm) when compared to NC2 (56 nm). In contrast, NC2-treated fabrics showed a higher depositing density of nanoparticles than NC1-treated ones. The treated cotton fibers demonstrated strong and sustainable antimicrobial impacts on S. aureus, E. coli, and C. albicans pathogens, with more effective performance for NC2-treated textiles in comparison to NC1-treated fabrics. The NC2-remediated cotton fabrics demonstrated a higher UV protection factor (UPF) value (53) as compared to NC1-coated fabrics (35), indicating that the ZnO-rich nanocomposite endowed cotton fabrics with more ultraviolet protection than TiO2-rich nanocomposite.