Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have acquired great significance in the textile sector due to their impressive efficiency and multifold utilization, such as antimicrobials, UV protection, photo catalytic activity, and self-cleaning. The aim of this work is in-situ growth of ZnO NPs on 100% cotton fabrics with the one-step hydrothermal method for preparation of multifunctional textile with UV protecting, antibacterial, and photo catalytic properties. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and Zinc nitrate hexahydrate [Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O] were used as reactants for the growth of zinc oxide on the 100% cotton fabrics. The loaded amount of Zn contents on the cotton fabric was determined by using induced coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The surface morphological characterization of deposited ZnO NPs was examined, employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and, Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The characterization results showed the presence of ZnO NPs on cotton fabrics having hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure. The synthesized ZnO NPs on fabrics exhibited promising results for antibacterial, UV protection, and photo catalytic performance.

The aim of the present research work was to develop halogen and formaldehyde-free, durable flame retardant fabric along with multifunctional properties and to find the optimal conditions and parameters. In this research, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were grown onto 100% cotton fabric using the sonochemical method. Zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were used as precursors. After ZnO NPs growth, N-Methylol dimethylphosphonopropionamide (MDPA) flame retardant was applied in the presence of 1, 2, 3, 4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) as cross-linkers using the conventional pad–dry–cure method. Induced coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) was used to determine the deposited amount of Zn and phosphorous (P) contents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to determine the surface morphology and characterization of the developed samples. Furthermore, the thermal degradation of the untreated and treated samples was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Furthermore, the vertical flame retardant test, limiting oxygen index (LOI), ultraviolet protection factor (UPF), and antibacterial activity of samples were examined. The developed samples showed excellent results for flame retardancy (i.e., 39 mm char length, 0 s after flame time, 0 s after glow time), 32.2 LOI, 143.76 UPF, and 100% antibacterial activity.

The main aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of microwave irradiation time on the photocatalytic and physiological comfort characteristics of zinc-oxide-nanorod-coated cotton fabrics. An ultra-fast technique was employed to grow the zinc oxide nanorods on cotton fabrics using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The axial (length) and lateral (diameter) growth of the zinc oxide nanorods was observed to increase with microwave irradiation time. The ZnO nanorods uniformly and entirely covered the cotton fibers. The surface morphology, topography and chemical characteristics of the ZnO nanorods were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), EDS analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The degradation of orange II dye under UV light irradiation was observed to assess photocatalytic self-cleaning and solution discoloration ability. The ZnO-nanorod-coated cotton fabrics exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity, as the stains of orange II dye disappeared predominantly within 4 h and the coated fabrics became almost white after 6 h. Analyses of thermal properties, water vapor permeability (WVP), air permeability and stiffness were also performed to investigate the physiological comfort of the ZnO-nanorod-coated fabrics. The thermal conductivity and thermal absorptivity were observed to increase with an increase in the size and density of the ZnO nanorods. Moreover, non-significant reductions in water vapor permeability and air permeability were observed with application of the ZnO nanorods. The stiffness of the ZnO-nanorod-coated cotton fabric increased due to the complete coverage of fibers by the uniform growth of the ZnO nanorods. The ZnO-nanorod-coated cotton fabrics also showed good washing durability and reusability.

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