Funtionalization and Mechanical Propeties of Cotton Fabric with ZnO Nanoparticles for Antibacterial Textile Application

Abstract

Cotton fibre has been widely used for clothing applications since thousand years ago. However, the products made of cotton fibre can be easily deteriorated by microoganisms due to its natural feature and moisture affinity. This will lead to loss of mechanical strength as well as hygiene problems. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have shown antimicrobial effects on many microorganisms. Due to the lack of bonding between ZnO and cotton fabric and improve mechanical strength, PVA is applied onto ZnO and cotton fabric by dip coating. In this study, the presence of ZnO NPs are determined by SEM and XRD. The crystal size of ZnO NPs are approximately 25 ~ 35 nm. The optimum tensile strength occurred at 0.20 M ZnO and 15 g PVA. The antibacterial efficiency against S. aureus is tested by disc diffusion test. It found that increased ZnO NPs and PVA concentration, increased inhibition zone and thus showed good antibacterial activity.