Self-cleaning wool: effect of noble metals and silica on visible-light-induced functionalities of nano TiO₂ colloid

Abstract

This study intends to enhance the functionality of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles applied to wool fabrics under visible light. Herein, TiO₂, TiO₂/SiO₂, TiO₂/Metal, and TiO₂/Metal/SiO₂ nanocomposite sols were synthesized and applied to wool fabrics through a low-temperature sol–gel method. The impacts of three types of noble metals, namely gold (Au), platinum (Pt), and silver (Ag), on the photoefficiency of TiO₂ and TiO₂/SiO₂ under visible light were studied. Different molar ratios of Metal toTiO₂ (0.01, 0.1, 0.5, and 1%) were employed in synthesizing the sols. Photocatalytic efficiency of fabrics was analyzed through monitoring the removal of red wine stain and degradation of methylene blue under simulated sunlight and visible light, respectively. Also, the antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterium and the mechanical properties of fabrics were investigated. Through applying binary and ternary nanocomposite sols to fabrics, an enhanced visible-light-induced self-cleaning property was imparted to wool fabrics. It was concluded that the presence of silica and optimized amount of noble metals had a synergistic impact on boosting the photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities of coated samples. The fabrics were further characterized using attenuated total reflectance, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy images.

Keywords:

• titanium dioxide
• self-cleaning
• antimicrobial property
• noble metal
• visible light

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Dr Keith Millington from CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering for providing the Suntest solar simulator and UV-box facilities. This research was financially supported by Deakin University Australia.

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by Deakin University Australia.