Industrial method of cotton fabric finishing with chitosan-ZnO composite for anti-bacterial and thermal stability

Chitosan-ZnO composites were prepared by hydrothermal method using commercial chitosan, 0.1 M zinc nitrate and 1.6 M sodium hydroxide. The advantage of this method is direct and a relatively easy ways of getting large amounts of chitosan-ZnO at lower temperature. Presence of chitosan was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopic analysis and crystalline structure of ZnO by XRD pattern. Photoluminescence spectra showed a yellow luminescence at similar to 620-630 nm and blue-violet emission at similar to 410-430 nm. TG/DTA analysis of the prepared chitosan-ZnO composites revealed higher thermal stability than commercial chitosan. SEM analysis shows that more number of chitosan-ZnO composite particles was dispersed within the micrometer scale. Antibacterial activity of chitosan-ZnO composite shows higher for gram-positive bacterium compared to gram-negative bacterium. The chitosan-ZnO composite cross linked cotton fabric exhibits very good antimicrobial activities and better durability than chitosan cross linked cotton fabric. To conclude, the preparation of chitosan-ZnO composites by this way will give bulk quantity with low cost for industrial bio-finishing. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.