Development of multi-functional cotton fabrics with Ag/AgBr-TiO2 nanocomposite coating

Significance Statement

Cotton is one of the most abundant natural materials, and has been widely used in our daily life. Despite the excellent properties and low cost of cotton fabrics, some characters like the impotent antimicrobial activity, low strength and poor sensitivity to the UV light, confine their wide applications, especially in some high-end areas. Value addition to cotton by functionalization has generated considerable academic and industrial attention, not only due to their potential use in physical, ther­mal, biological and medical protection, but also to meet the constantly evolving demand from consumers for advanced materials.

A team led by Professor Peng-Cheng Ma in the Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported the development of multi-functional cotton fabrics with Ag/AgBr-TiO2 nanocomposite coating, aiming at enhancing the technical value of fabrics using a simple spray coating process. The results showed that the introduction of nanocomposite coating onto cotton fabrics significantly enhanced the mechanical properties under both warp and weft directions, along with a rectified surface property from the hydrophilic to the hydrophobic. More interestingly, the developed fabrics showed excellent antibacterial, selective oil adsorption from oil-water mixture and UV blocking activities, thus significantly enhancing the technical value of cotton fabrics. The authors anticipate that the developed cotton fabrics could be a promising candidate for medical, personal hygiene and environmental applications.

Paper information:

Rana M, Hao B, Mu L, Chen L, Ma PC*. Development of multi-functional cotton fabrics with Ag/AgBr-TiO2 nanocomposite coating. Composites Science and Technology, 2016, 122, 104-122.

 

Development of multi-functional cotton fabrics with Ag/AgBr-TiO2 nanocomposite coating. Advances in Engineering

About the author

Masud Rana

Mr. Masud Rana got his bachelor degree from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and master degree from the Technical University of Dresden, Germany. His master project was supported by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). Currently, he is a PhD student in the Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science (XJIPC-CAS). His research is concentrated on the development of functional textiles for engineering and environmental applications. His PhD studies were supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences- The World Academy of Sciences (CAS-TWAS) Fellowship. 

About the author

Professor Peng-Cheng Ma

Professor Ma graduated with BSc in Chemistry and MSc in Polymer Chemistry and Physics, both from Lanzhou University, China. After working in industry for one year, he joined the PhD program in Mechanical Engineering Department of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He obtained a PhD in Nanocomposite from HKUST in 2008. He continued his research as a visiting scholar in the same institute for one and half years. From 2010 to 2012, he was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and working in Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden in Germany. Prof. Ma joined the Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science (XJIPC-CAS) in May, 2012.

With a multidisciplinary background, Prof. Ma has been active in polymer nanocomposites, interface science and characterization. Currently, his works focus on materials with hierarchical structures for engineering and environmental applications. He authored a monograph (Carbon Nanotubes for Polymer Reinforcement, CRC Press, 2011) and published more than 40 peer-review papers in the broad field of composites science and technology. He was a holder of 8 patents, and 3 of them have been transferred to industry. He was an awardee of the National 1000-Talent Scheme (Recruitment Program of Global Expert, in Chinese: Qian-Ren-Ji-Hua) sponsored by the Chinese Central Government.

Journal Reference

Masud Rana1,2,Bin Hao1,Lei Mu1,Lin Chen1,Peng-Cheng Ma1

[expand title=”Show Affiliations”]
  1. Laboratory of Environmental Science and Technology, The Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China
  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Abstract

This paper reported the preparation of multi-functional cotton fabrics with Ag/AgBr–TiOnanocomposite coating, aiming at enhancing the technical value of fabrics using a simple spray coating process. Various techniques were employed to characterize the changes on the mechanical, surface and physical properties of fabrics before and after coating. The results showed that the introduction of nanocomposite coating onto cotton fabrics significantly enhanced their mechanical properties under both warp and weft directions, along with a rectified surface property from the hydrophilic to the hydrophobic. More interestingly, the developed fabrics exhibited excellent antibacterial, selective oil adsorption behavior from oil-water mixtures and UV blocking activities, thus significantly enhancing the value of cotton fabrics for various applications.

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