Polyfunctional cotton fabrics with catalytic activity and antibacterial capacity

A novel, eco-friendly and cost-effective method involving cotton fabric (CF) coating with copper oxide and grafting of 3-chloropropyltriethoxisilane and diethanolamine resulted in a multifunctional material (CF@CuO-Si-N(OH)(2)). The latter exhibited catalytic activity in 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction, Methylene Blue degradation and antibacterial activity. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray-fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared and UV-visible spectroscopies, contact angle and thermogravimetric analysis revealed the key-role of amine grafting in changes in wettability, stability, morphological and thermal properties. 4-NP catalytic reduction was found to obey 1st-order kinetics, affording 98% conversion even after 7 successive reuses. CF@CuO-Si-N(OH)(2) also exhibited appreciable antibacterial capacity against Staphylococcus epidermidis (S.epidermidis) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). These results open promising prospects for using textile fiber-based nanocomposites in diverse technological applications.