Preparation and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and a Study of the Anti-microbial Property of Cotton Fabric Treated with the Particles

Authors

  • Anita Asokan
  • T. Ramachandran
  • Rajendran Ramaswamy
  • C. V. Koushik
  • Mahalakshmi Muthusamy

Abstract

Nanotechnology is an emerging interdisciplinary technology that has been booming in many areas during the recent decade. Nanostructures are capable of enhancing the physical properties of conventional textiles, in areas such as antimicrobial properties, water repellence, soil resistance, antistatic, anti-infrared and flame retardant properties, dyeability, color fastness and strength of textile materials. Studies have been carried out in the present work to fine-tune the properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles for special applications. Soluble starch (stabilizing agent), zinc nitrate and sodium hydroxide (precursors) were used for the preparation of zinc oxide nanoparticles by the wet chemical method. Cotton fabric (honeycomb-weave) was coated with the synthesized nanoparticles and the antibacterial property of the coated fabric was determined. Techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and physical and chemical characterization were employed to determine the phase and morphology of the final nanoparticles coated fabric. The results indicate that coated fabric with 2% zinc oxide nanoparticles have high antibacterial efficiency (up to 99.9%). The nanoparticles synthesized in this work have an average size of 50 nm and the physical and chemical properties of the treated fabric are markedly different from those of the untreated fabric. Keywords: Nanotechnology, nanoparticles, coated fabric, zinc oxide

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Published

2010-08-30

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 4 (2010)

Section

Scholarly Articles

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