STUDY THE SELF-CLEANING ABILITY OF ZNO CONTAINED COTTON FABRICS

In this study, ZnO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by the precipitation method, then immobilized onto cotton fabric. The metal oxide nanoparticle-contained fabric exhibits a self-cleaning effect under ultraviolet (UV) illumination. The nanostructure of the prepared samples was detected using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis. The chemical composition changes of the fabrics before and after the modification were detected using The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). After modification with ZnO nanoparticles, the cotton fabric exerted adsorption and decomposition properties again various chemical compounds. Stains of methylene blue (MB), and methylene orange (MO) were introduced into cotton fabric, under UV light, the dyes were faded and ultimately discolored. The degradation of pigments in the solution happened faster and was expressed by the concentration of dyes decreasing over time through UV-vis measurement results. The self-cleaning ability for MB and MO stained cotton fabrics is evaluated quantitatively over time through the K/S value, which showed a good self-cleaning effect.