Ultrasound irradiation based in-situ synthesis of star-like Tragacanth gum/zinc oxide nanoparticles on cotton fabric

Application of natural biopolymers for green and safe synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the textiles is a novel and interesting approach. The present study offers the use of natural biopolymer, Tragacanth gum, as the reducing, stabilizing and binding agent for in-situ synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the cotton fabric. Ultrasonic irradiation leads to clean and easy synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles in short-time at low-temperature. FESEM/EDX, XRD, FT-IR spectroscopy, DSC, photocatalytic activities and antimicrobial assay are used to characterize Tragacanth gum/zinc oxide nanoparticles coated cotton fabric. The analysis confirmed synthesis of star-like zinc oxide nanoparticles with hexagonal wurtzite structure on the cotton fabric with the average particle size of 62 nm. The finished cotton fabric showed a good photocatalytic activity on degradation of methylene blue and 100% antimicrobial properties with inhibition zone of 3.3 +/- 0.1, 3.1 +/- 0.1 and 3.0 +/- 0.1 mm against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.