Development of Cotton Fabrics with Durable UV Protective and Self-cleaning Property by Deposition of Low TiO2 Levels through Sol-gel Process.

In this article, the deposition of TiO2 on cotton fabric using sol-gel technique has been described. Various process routes (pad-dry-cure, pad-dry-hydrothermal and pad-dry-solvothermal) were examined to impart a stable coating of TiO2 on fabric. The role of precursor concentration, process temperature and time of treatment were studied to aim at a wash durable, UV protective and self-cleaning property in the treated fabric. EDX and ICP-MS techniques were used to examine the add-on percentage of TiO2 on cotton fabrics treated via different routes. It has been found that the TiO2 remains largely amorphous and nondurable if it is given a short thermal treatment. To convert the deposited TiO2 to its anatase crystal form, a prolonged hydrothermal treatment for at least 3 h needs to be given. TiO2 deposition levels of less than 0.1% were found to be effective in imparting reasonable degree of UV protection and self-cleaning property to the cotton fabric. The self-cleaning ability of the treated fabric against coffee stain was also studied and was found to be related to the process route and the deposition levels of TiO2 .