PHOTOCATALYTIC EFFICIENCY OF N-TIO2 APPLIED ON COTTON KNIT – PART 2

• Main Authors: DUMITRESCU Iuliana, VARZARU Elena, IORDACHE George-Ovidiu, MITRAN Elena-Cornelia, CIOROBITCA Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editura Universităţii din Oradea 2016-05-01
• Series: Annals of the University of Oradea: Fascicle of Textiles, Leatherwork
• Subjects: Nitrogen-Doped TiO2; Photocatalysis; Textiles; Washing durability; Nanoparticles
• Online Access: http://textile.webhost.uoradea.ro/Annals/Vol%20XVII-No%201-2016/Textile/Art.nr.137-pag.%2053-58.pdf

The objective of this work was to demonstrate the treatment durability at washing of N-TiO2 layers applied on cotton fabrics by padding and to investigate the particle adherence and morphology of the textile surface. After 5 washing cycles, the cotton fibers are covered with a high number of particles, which demonstrate that the particle adherence to the substrate is high, most of them being present as large clusters. Also, the washing process does not affect in an important manner the polymer layer, only from place to place the cotton knit beeing disrupted. To evaluate the photocatalytic effect of the materials after washing treatment, samples were exposed to ultraviolet and visible light. The trichromatic coordinates of the exposed and non-exposed samples were measured on Hunterlab spectrophotometer. The contradictories values are determined by the non-uniformities of the materials which don’t allowed a uniform dyeing of the fabrics. The obtained results showed that after 5 washings, the particles adherence to the substrate is still high and the photocatalytic effects are not significantly impaired. The photocatalytic efficiency of cotton knit treated with N-TiO2 nanoparticles is higher under visible light than under UV light demonstrating the extension of the TiO2 absorption in the visible range.