Antibacterial Activities and UV Protection of the in Situ Synthesized Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles on Cotton Fabrics

In situ synthesis of titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) on cotton fabrics was innovatively studied. The synthesis involved the use of titanium isopropoxide (TIP) as a source of titanium hydroxide and urea nitrate as a peptizing agent responsible for conversion of titanium hydroxide to TiO2NPs. Characterization of TiO2NPs was performed using SEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR, TEM, particle size analyzer, and zeta potential. The results obtained signify the following features. TiO2NPs are deposited in the form of coating on the surface of cotton fibers. They are composed of aggregated nanoparticles with an average size dimension that does not exceed 50 nm. On the other hand, TiO2NPs-loaded cotton fabrics exhibit a bacterial reduction of more than 95%, which is sustainable even after 20 washing cycles; the bacterial reduction increases by increasing the urea nitrate concentration used in the synthesis of TiO2NPs. Cotton fabrics coated with TiO2NPs display excellent UV protection before and after washing.