Treatment of Cotton Fibers with Hydrophilic Compounds for Production of Photo catalytic Fabrics

Decoration of natural fibers such as cotton with titanium dioxide nano particles causes to active their photo catalytic and hydrophilic properties. In this study, the titanium hydroxide solution was synthesized at neutral pH and was deposited at low temperature over cotton fabrics. Afterward, titanium dioxide nanoparticles were formed by dehydration treatment in order to stick the nano particles to the fibers. In order to elucidate the role of nano sized TiO2 particles on the physical and mechanical properties of cotton fabrics, DSA (Drop shape analysis), UV-Vis (Ultraviolet-Visible spectro photometry), tensile test and microscopic evaluations were performed. Visual inspection shows that, addition of metal oxide has not any significant effects on the appearance and the pore size of the fabric. The results of microscopic evaluations show that the nano particles are dispersed over the surface of the fibers properly. The result of DSA test shows that the contact angle of water drop over the decorated fabric by 30.167 %wt. of nanoparticles, depends strongly on the presence of the nano particles, and contact angle is changed from 116.4º to 56.6º. The UV-Vis analysis proves the ability of titanium dioxide nano particles to absorb energy and also to decompose the methylene blue dye. The result of tensile test shows that the strength of the decorated fabric is higher than that of the bare fabric of about 30N.