Enhanced hydrophilic and antibacterial efficiencies by the synergetic effect TiO2 nanofiber and graphene oxide in cellulose acetate nanofibers

In this study, a novel nanofiber with improved antibacterial efficiencies was created by introducing TiO2 nanofibers and graphene oxide (GO) sheets into cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers using an efficient electrospinning process. The morphologies and chemical composition of above nanocomposite were fully measured by SEM, FTIR and XRD measurements. The results demonstrated that TiO2 nanofibers and GO sheets have a uniform distribution in the CA nanofibers and these two additives also could improve hydrophilicity. TiO2/GO/CA@cotton exhibited high antibacterial activity with an inhibition rate higher than 95% against B. subtilis and B. cereus bacteria. Therefore, the proposed nanofiber is promising for the large-scale production of antibacterial nanofiber/cotton hybrid yarns for biomedical and antibacterial textiles applications. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.