Study on Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activity of Ag Doped ZnO Attached on Cotton Fabrics and Evaluation of Antibacterial Durability after Washing Cycles

Abstract

The study used the co-precipitation method to synthesize silver (Ag) doped ZnO nanoparticles with different doping contents of 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 3% (mole fraction). The obtained material properties were tested using methods such as energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic activity of these materials was assessed by degrading methylene blue (MB) using UV-Vis absorption spectra under ultraviolet, xenon, and sunlight. The antibacterial activity was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method against the gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria. The results demonstrate that Ag-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibit a significant increase in photocatalytic performance and antibacterial activity over the undoped ZnO nanoparticles. The sol-gel coating technique was used to attach Ag-doped ZnO nanomaterials to enhance some unique properties of cotton fabrics, such as antibacterial and photocatalytic properties. The ASTM D4265 (Evaluating Stain Removal Performance in Home Laundering) standard was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the coating after washing cycles. Analyzing the adhesion ability of the coating based on SEM, EDS, and FTIR, the ASTM E2149 standard is used to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of the material.