In situ synthesis of TiO2/NC on cotton fibers with antibacterial properties and recyclable photocatalytic degradation of dyes.

A cotton fabric/titanium dioxide-nanocellulose (TiO2-Cot.) flexible and recyclable composite material with highly photocatalytic degradation of dyes and antibacterial properties was synthesized. During the preparation process, nano-TiO2 particles were synthesized through an in situ strategy and grown on cotton fiber, and were wrapped with cellulose nanocrystals (NC). The prepared TiO2-Cot. was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The SEM and EDS results showed that nano-TiO2 particles were evenly distributed on the fiber surface. The prepared TiO2@Cot. has excellent photocatalytic efficiency of 95.68% for MB and 92.77% for AR under weak ultraviolet irradiation over 6 h. At the same time, it has excellent antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The stability and reusability of the materials were also investigated.