Ecofriendly bleaching method for cotton fabric: Development of titanium dioxide doped single wall carbon nanocomposites by photocatalytic treatment for sustainable textile pre-finishing applications

Abstract

This study aimed to find an eco-friendly substitute method and chemical for conventional hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) bleaching of cotton fabric. We developed diverse functional groups containing titanium dioxide-doped single-wall carbon nanotubes (TiO2-SWCNTs) particles, designed a photocatalytic system, and examined the effects of working conditions and functional group variations on the degree of fabric whitening. Throughout the many phases of the chemical development process, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy -Attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were conducted. In addition, the color spectrum values, the whiteness indexes, the results of the tearing test, SEM and FTIR-ATR findings of 100% cotton textiles were presented that were treated with TiO2-SWCNTs particles using the photocatalytic technique. The test results demonstrated the successful synthesis of various types of TiO2SWCNTs, leading to a significant enhancement in the whiteness of the cotton fabrics. This increase reached 21.79% using a small amount of nano-chemicals, surpassing the whiteness index value created by the conventional H2O2 bleaching process. Optimal results were achieved by using minimum quantities of substance and working at moderate temperatures. According to this information, it can be concluded that this approach may serve as a substitute for the conventional H2O2 whitening procedure in terms of both the substance utilized and the application method, specifically for treating cotton fabric. Moreover, the statistical analysis revealed that the fabric's self-cleaning capacity is significantly influenced by the square of temperature and pH.