A multifunctional cotton fabric using TiO2 and PCMs: introducing thermal comfort and self-cleaning properties

Abstract

The development of materials with multiple functionalities is a market imperative that places new challenges on textile processing. The purpose of this study was to establish the conditions to obtain a cotton material that is comfortable, with self-cleaning and antimicrobial properties. For this purpose, microcapsules of phase change materials (mPCM) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NP) were applied. The resulting fabrics were characterized with resource to infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), contact angle and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The self-cleaning properties of treated fabrics were also analysed based on the photocatalytic ability of coated fabrics. Therefore, the decomposition of methyl orange (MO) and the degradation of red wine and curry spots under the irradiation of a solar simulator were analysed. Thus, the incorporation of TiO2 particles into the cotton fabric promoted self-cleaning and antibacterial characteristics, but the presence of PCM combined with TiO2 increases the bioactivity of materials