Fabrication of ZnO@Cotton fabric with anti-bacterial and radiation barrier properties using an economical and environmentally friendly method

Recent years have witnessed the explosive progress of functional materials, which are made by loading various metal oxides onto fabrics. A cost-effective, facile, and simple approach of loading hexagonal zinc oxide (ZnO) sheets onto fabrics is highly desired. Here, the fabrication of the multifunctional ZnO@cotton fabrics is demonstrated using a surface micro-dissolution method by sodium hydroxide/urea (NaOH/urea) and zinc chloride (ZnCl2) aqueous solution. The hexagonal sheet ZnO forms the reflective layer to ultraviolet and near-infrared rays. The UV reflectivity of ZnO@cotton fabric is higher than the raw fabric in the range of 10.9–18.8% and UPF value of treated fabric was 100 + . Infrared barrier results were obtained through the phenomenon of heat radiation transfer obstruction, when fabrics being placed on the hot plate of 120 °C, the temperature difference between raw and treated fabrics is 6.6 °C. Also, the high antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus cultures of ZnO@cotton fabric was testified.