Morphological, UV blocking, and antimicrobial features of multifunctional cotton fibers coated with ZnO/Cu via sonochemistry

Abstract

Multifunctional textiles have been quoted as a technologically and economically viable alternative to prevent the contamination and proliferation of microorganisms, increasing biomedical devices' safety by combining different properties with antimicrobial activities. The present work applied ultrasound waves to coat cotton fibers with ZnO and copper nanoparticles, using citric acid as an eco-friendly reductant/binder agent with different concentrations. We evaluated the cellulose morphology change caused by the surface treatment and the modification impact on different properties of cotton fibers using X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Fourier-Transform Raman Spectroscopy (FT-Raman), colorimetry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), agar diffusion tests, and uniaxial tensile tests. The surface functionalization caused significant changes in the properties of the cotton fibers, including the relative proportions of cellulose Iβ and II, present in the cotton fibers, as demonstrated by the Rietveld refinement using X-ray diffractogram data. The multifunctional fibers are effective against Escherichia coli under photoirradiation, indicating that ROS generation is the most responsible mechanism for the bactericidal properties of the fibers. The sonochemical treatment present here is suitable for developing fabrics with multiple functional capacities, such as antimicrobial properties and UV blocking, using renewable sources.