Efficacy of Sericin-Plant Nanoparticles on Surface Modified Cotton and Polyester Cotton Blend
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Date
2023
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MPUAT, Udaipur
Abstract
Scientists and the textile industry have focused on nano finishing of textile materials with several metal and metal oxide particles to confer multifunctional properties. Of late, green approaches in nanoparticle synthesis have garnered a lot of attention chiefly because of their low toxicity, eco-friendly nature, biocompatibility, and cost-effectiveness. Traditionally chemical reducing agents have been used in the synthesis of nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles were the most studied for textile applications and overused, leading to the development of bacterial resistance and increased reports of safety and detrimental effects on the environment. In light of the above, the present research has been planned to synthesize copper nanoparticles, modify the surface of cotton and polyester blends with microwave irradiation, coat the fabrics with synthesized CuNPs, and assess the wash durability of the antibacterial finish as well as study the comfort properties
The novelty of the present research lies in using two green reducing agents one from animal origin - sericin extracted from Bombyx mori cocoons and the other from plant origin - methanolic leaf extracts of five plants viz. Annona squamosa, Citrus limon, Moringa oleifera, Psidium guajava, Vitex negundo. Qualitative and quantitative estimation of phytochemicals of the aqueous, methanol, and ethanol leaf extracts was assessed, to know the presence of phytochemicals. Five copper nanoparticles were synthesized using the polyol synthesis method, which was assessed for antibacterial activity in liquid and dry forms. Out of the five, two nanoparticles were chosen based on the zone of inhibition obtained against S.aureus and E.coli. All the nanoparticles were characterized by FeSEM and EDX. Copper nanoparticles synthesized using lemon and sericin reducing agents showed rod-shaped structure, while the other four copper nanoparticles showed flower-shaped morphology. EDX showed copper in terms of mass expressed as weight percentage, the order of which is CAS2.1 > VS2.1 > MS2.1> GS2.1>LS2.1.
Copper and polyester cotton blend fabrics were scoured, crosslinked with BTCA, given microwave irradiation treatment in two doses (2 min and 4 min), and were functionalized with the MS2.1 and CAS2.1 CuNPs using In-situ and padding procedures. The treatment design adopted in the present study was a full factorial 3 X 2 experimental pattern, with three factors namely copper nanoparticles (MS2.1 and CAS 2.1), microwave irradiation time (2 and 4 minutes), and fabric type (cotton and PC). The antibacterial activity of the functionalized fabrics was evaluated using the AATCC 147 test method. They were washed several times to test the washability of the finish. The eight experimental runs as per the design of experiments were functionalized with two CuNPs through In-situ and padding methods. ANOVA investigated the effects of main factors and interaction factors on the response (ZOI of S.aureus and E.coli). The crosslinked cotton fabric coated with MS2.1 CuNP using the Insitu method with a 2 minute microwave irradiation time demonstrated the best antimicrobial activity against S.aureus and E.coli consistently throughout the three wash cycles, with a reduction in ZOI with an increase in wash cycles. Overall, fabrics coated with MS2.1 CuNPs outperformed fabrics coated with CAS2.1 CuNPs. It can be concluded that cotton nano-functionalized fabrics showed good antibacterial activity when compared with the PC blend.
Comfort properties such as air permeability, vertical wicking, fabric stiffness, crease recovery angle, and moisture regain were evaluated in the functionalized materials. The air permeability of PC blend nano coated fabrics through the In-situ and padding method was higher when compared with cotton fabrics, with a common feature of a decrease in air permeability with an increase in wash cycles. The unwashed fabrics were hygroscopic and hence showed a high vertical wicking rate, when compared with washed samples, implying that the finish was wearing off a little with each wash. Both the cotton and PC blend coated with CAS CuNPs showed an increase in bending length indicating that they became stiffer with each wash. The fabrics functionalized with MS2.1 showed no change in stiffness after washes. The same effect was observed in padded fabrics.
Crosslinking the fabrics with BTCA showed an increase in crease recovery angle. In-situ functionalized test fabrics treated with a higher microwave irradiation time showed an increase in crease recovery, which was reduced with washes. The padded fabrics did not show any change in crease recovery angle with a change in microwave irradiation time. However, the crease recovery angle decreased with washes. Since the nano coating was hygroscopic, the moisture regain of the unwashed functionalized fabrics was considerably higher, which was reduced with washes. Cotton functionalized fabrics through In-situ and padding showed higher moisture regain than PC nano coated fabrics.
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Sornapudi S.D. and Meenu. S