Ecofriendly functionalization of jute–cotton blended yarn using Azadirachta Indica leaves

Abstract

Antibacterial materials have received a lot of attention and acceptance in the market and in everyday life over the last couple of decades. Many antibacterial finishes based on synthetic chemicals have been used, however the washout wastewater from the industry damages the environment and contributes to antibacterial resistance in bacteria in the exposed ecosystem. As a result, the current study aims to uncover a natural antibacterial component from the Azadirachta Indica (neem) leaves that may be employed as an ecofriendly treatment on jute-cotton blended (jutton) yarn. The two blended ratio of jutton was prepared and treated with the naturally extracted neem leaves. The bacterial resistivity of treatd jutton was monitored by the agar disk diffusion test and found different antibacterial activity towards both gram-positive ( Staphylococcus aureus ) and gram-negative ( Escherichia coli ) bacteria. It was found that the treated ratio 1:2 of neem:water on ring jutton yarn was highly bacterial resistivity among other sample. The colorfastness to wash grades of 4 indicated the surface plasmon resonance of color stability. These findings revealed that the interaction with the neem leaves successfully provided jutton yarn with long-lasting antibacterial performances. The morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the particles from neem leaves were uniformly distributed on the treated jutton surface. The interaction between fiber and particles were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Furthermore, the treated jutton yarn maintained excellent tensile strength and elongation (%) properties. Therefore, this study will enhanced the ecofriendly antibacterial treatment on jutton yarn in sustainable textile industrial applications. • Environment friendly neem leaves were extracted. • Neem leaves were applied onto jutton yarn. • The neem treated jutton yarn shown potential antibacterial activity. • Azadirachta Indica leaves can be an alternative of synthetic chemical.