Nanocoating on cotton fabric with nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots/titanium dioxide/PVA: an erythemal UV protection and photoluminescent finishing

Abstract

Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can result in several skin problems, such as accelerating aging, burns, blemishes, or even cancer. Even when wearing clothes, there is still a risk that the user will be exposed to UV radiation and suffer skin damage. Therefore, it is necessary to apply anti-UV treatments to the clothes and fabrics used, so that users become safe. Nitrogen doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQD) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs are materials that have a broad spectrum of UV absorption and are promising candidates to be applied in functional finishing in use on textile materials, giving textiles property anti-UV. The aim of this research is to evaluate the synergy effect between N-GQD and TiO2 NPs in getting a nanocoating that can be applied on a cotton fabric, add photoluminescent and anti-UV properties. The nanocoatings obtained were applied via industrial discontinuous method, the high-pressure and high-temperature exhaustion process to the cotton fabric using polyvinyl alcohol as a binding agent. According to the UV protection assessment, it was observed that both materials are excellent UV absorbers and their ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) are highly dependent on the concentrations used in the nanocoated cotton fabrics. Thus, nanocoated cotton with TiO2, N-GQD and TiO2/N-GQD revealed an UPF of +50, which established their effectiveness in protecting against UV radiation. They also withstand up to 20 wash cycles with no change in UPF.