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The development of cooling textiles has a significant impact on energy saving and cost‐effectiveness in the context of global warming. Engineering textiles with cooling performance while maintaining their intrinsic traits, for example, lightweight, washable, comfort, and durability, is a great challenge in developing personal cooling garments. Here, the synthesis of nanodiamond/polydopamine/wool (ND‐PDA‐wool) nanocomposites through a facile dip‐coating approach is demonstrated. Different types of ND including detonation ND (DND), carboxylated ND (ND‐COOH) and hydroxylated ND (ND‐OH), are used, and dopamine templating is applied to achieve strong adhesion and bonding between fiber and ND. The morphology, structure, and properties of the as‐coated fabrics are characterized, and the cooling performance together with comfort are measured. Due to the excellent thermal conductivity of ND, the temperature difference between the coated fabrics and uncoated ones is around 2.4–3.9 °C within a short time span of 30 min. The coated ND‐PDA‐Wool fabrics demonstrated enhanced thermal stability and improved mechanical properties with excellent durability, and the water absorbency is greatly enhanced with well‐maintained air permeability. ND‐PDA‐wool composite fabrics offer a strategy to develop durable, lightweight, washable, and comfortable cooling textiles with immense potential in energy saving and reducing space cooling costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were immobilized on the surface of cotton fabrics by in situ reduction on polydopamine (PDA) templates. Evidenced by the results of scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDX), Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), PDA films were successfully formed on the surface of cotton fabrics as the templates for the in situ reduction. The morphology, chemical composition and crystal structure of the coated cotton fabrics after in situ reduction of TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized by SEM–EDX, XPS and X-ray diffraction, respectively. These results confirmed that anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were well-dispersed on the surface of cotton fabrics. The photocatalysis experiment results indicated that about 90% of methylene blue solution was degraded after UV illumination of the coated cotton fabrics. The thermogravimetric analysis results demonstrated that the TiO2 nanoparticles had little effect on the thermal stability of cotton fabrics. The results of UV protection showed that the value of the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of the coated cotton fabrics was 127.2. The UPF value was maintained at 108.8 after five cycles of laundering, indicating excellent durability of the coating in terms of UV protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling of photocatalyst in wastewater treatment is a big challenge. Fixation of photocatalyst on a flexible surface of solid substrates is a promising solution. In this work, copper ferrite (CuFe 2 O 4) particles were loaded onto polydopamine (pDA) pretreated ceramic/polyester fabrics (CPF) via coprecipitation. The CPF not only acts as loading material for CuFe 2 O 4 particles, but also makes this photocatalyst convenient to recycle. The morphology, elemental composition and structure of the as-fabricated CPF/CuFe 2 O 4 were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The degradation rate of methylene blue (MB) by the CPF/CuFe 2 O 4 photocatalyst reached to 98.2% under visible light irradiation for 80 min, reflecting the excellent photocatalytic activity of the composites. The CPF/CuFe 2 O 4 demonstrated good photostability and recoverability, indicating its great potential in wastewater treatment. Moreover, the degradation mechanism and possible degradation pathway of MB by CPF/CuFe 2 O 4 photocatalyst were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuO/BiVO 4 (BVO) nanocomposite photocatalyst was immobilized on cotton fabrics through polydopamine (PDA) templating for multiple application including highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis, antimicrobial activity and UV protection. The morphology and structure of CuO/BVO nanocomposites and the coated fabrics were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The functionalized cotton fabrics were found to be highly effective in degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation with stability and recyclability, and about 97.7% of MB aqueous solution was degraded after 200 min exposure with 92.1% of the photocatalytic activity preserved even after five recycles. The mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity was proposed. The coated fabrics also demonstrated to be UV protective and antimicrobial. This work will benefit the development of durable and recyclable textile based photocatalysts with multiple function. Unlabelled Image • CuO/BiVO 4 nanocomposite photocatalyst was immobilized on cotton fabrics. • Polydopamine (PDA) template was introduced to enhance anchor the nanocomposite. • Efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis was achieved with mechanism revealed. • The nanocomposites also showed antimicrobial activity and UV protection. • This textile-based nanocomposite has great application potential in multiple area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Hydrothermal growing of ZnO nanoparticles without crystal seeding on PDA-templated PET film was achieved. • Cluster-like ZnO nanoparticles were successfully grown with the mechanism revealed. • UPF value of 500+ was brought the PET film after coating of ZnO nanoparticles. • The ZnO-coated PET film showed excellent antimicrobial activity. Abstract Growing of ZnO nanoparticles on PET films without crystal seeding has been achieved by employing polydopamine as the anchor. The PDA layer was formed on the surface of PET film by the polymerization of dopamine. The PDA-PET was dipped into zinc precursors for hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanoparticles. Cluster-like ZnO nanoparticles were obtained and the special structure was affected by the growing time and zinc ion concentration. The surface morphology, structure and properties were characterized, and the functions including antimicrobial activity and UV protection of the ZnO-coated PET film were investigated. The developed facile hydrothermal approach without seeding will benefit the development of UV resistant and antimicrobial PET films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Polydopamine for in-situ growth of three dimensional(3D) ZnO/Ag nanocomposites. • Raman hot spots of Ag on cluster-like ZnO nanorods for target molecules detection. • Enhanced photocatalysis by inhibited recombination of electron-hole pairs. • PET/pDA/ZnO/Ag SERS substrate with excellent sensitivity and reproducibility. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy as an effective method in sensitive detection applications has attracted more and more attentions recently. In this work, polydopamine was taken to achieve the modification of PET film surface for in-situ growth of three-dimensional (3D) ZnO/Ag nanocomposites. Ag nanoparticles on cluster-like ZnO nanorods surface were applied as Raman hot spots for target molecules detection. SEM, XPS, and XRD were used to characterize the microstructures and morphologies of 3D SERS substrates. pATP molecules were selected to measure the sensitivity, uniformity, and durability, the surface-enhanced enhancement mechanism of Raman scattering was analyzed by finite difference time domain (FDDT) simulation method. Malachite green (MG) was further used as the demonstrative pesticide residue, and the catalytic activity was studied by the deoxidization of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). This work has indicated that SERS substrates exhibited the advantages of facile fabrication process, low cost, high sensitivity, good stability and excellent uniformity, which can be used for the rapid Raman enhanced spectroscopy analysis of environmental pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ZIF-8/TiO 2 composite nanoparticles were in-situ grown on PDA-templated cotton fabrics for photodegradation of dyes. • ZIF-8/TiO 2 composite nanoparticles were uniformly grown on cotton fabrics and and the role of pDA was proposed. • The fabrics showed visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance in degrading MB solution with stability and reliability. • The possible photocatalytic mechanism of ZIF-8/TiO 2 /pDA/CF was proposed. Excellent photocatalytic activity was achieved on textiles via polydopamine-assisted deposition of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8)/TiO 2 composite nanoparticles. Cotton fabrics as the substrate were templated with polydopamine followed by in-situ deposition of ZIF-8/TiO 2 photocatalysts. The heterogeneous nucleation growth of ZIF-8 was effectively improved by the chelation effects between polydopamine and Zn2+. SEM, FTIR, XPS, XRD, and TG analysis were employed to study the morphology, chemical constituent, micro-structure and thermal stability of ZIF-8/TiO 2 deposited fabrics. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra have indicated that the composite structure is beneficial in improving the charge transfer ability and decreasing the re-union rate of photogenerated electron pair holes. The mechanism was proposed to reveal both the in-situ deposition of nanocomposites on fiber surface and photocatalytic activity. The ZIF-8/TiO 2 deposited cotton fabrics exhibit good photocatalytic activity and recyclability leading to potential industrial wastewater treatment applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Implementing in situ hydrothermal growth of Cu NPs on textiles. • Introducing polydopamine as a template to facilitate growing nanoparticles. • Fibrous structure has been preserved with nanoparticles deposited on fibers. • Durable and highly-flexible textile based wearable sensor was developed. Incorporating conductive components into fibrous structure for wearable applications has attracted research attention recently. However, utilizing the flexibility and wearability of textiles to maintain a stable and durable wearable performance is a big challenge, as the intrinsic properties of textiles and the conductivity of the incorporated components have to work synergically in the fibrous system without compromising. In this work, polydopamine-templated PET fabrics were prepared to grow copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) on the surface of the knitted PET fabrics. The surface morphology, chemical composition and crystalline structure of the Cu NP-coated PET fabrics were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that Cu NP layer was successfully deposited onto the polydopamine-templated PET fabrics. The fabrics showed excellent electrical conductivity due to the loading of Cu NPs. The unique knitted structure together with the durable deposition of Cu NPs resulted in negative change in electrical resistance of the fabrics under strains, granting the fabrics the potential in wearable applications. The Cu NP-coated PET fabrics were demonstrated to be applicable as wearable strain sensors and electrical heaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the strong application potential of graphene in various areas, incorporation of graphene into fibrous system for durable, flexible and reliable wearable applications is still of challenge. We hereby propose the fabrication of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on PET fabrics through polydopamine (PDA) templating. Dopamine was self-polymerized on PET fabrics to for a PDA layer as a secondary platform for loading graphene oxide (GO) via vacuum filtration, and the as-prepared PET/PDA/GO was immediately reduced to PET/PDA/rGO by hot-pressing. The surface morphology, structure and properties were investigated with the mechanism proposed. The UV protective property and electrical conductivity of the prepared PET/PDA/rGO together with the durability against washing and bending and twisting were studied, and the application of the coated fabrics as wearable sensor was demonstrated. • Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on PET fabrics was achieved through polydopamine templating. • The coating was completed via vacuum filtration followed by hot-pressing reduction. • PET/PDA/rGO showed excellent UV protective property and electrical conductivity. • The PET/PDA/rGO showed durability against washing, bending and twisting. • The application of the coated fabrics as wearable sensor was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]