Rendering of Cellulose Acetate Fabrics Self-Cleaning through Treatment with TiO₂ Nano Particles

Abstract

Finishing using TiO 2 -nanosol treatment of cellulose acetate (CA) fabrics before and after the latter were pretreated with H 2 O 2 was undertaken with a view to impart unique properties to CA fabrics, notably, self-cleaning. Finishing was performed as per the pad-dry-cure method. The finishing treatment involved dispersing the nano-sized TiO 2 particles in a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (1:1) and application of the dispersions to CA fabrics was made under a variety of conditions. Self cleaning ability of the fabrics is favored by 1) increasing the concentration of TiO 2 -nanosol to certain limit; 2) prolongation of curing time up to 15 second; 3) raising the microwave power from 80% to 100% but with the certainty that power of 90% is the most proper. Besides, exposure time-to UV radiation-up to 90 minutes is essential to have remarkable self cleaning properties while keeping other technical properties, namely, strength, roughness and wettability practically unaltered. Incorporation of binder in the finishing pad-bath helps stabilizing the deposition of TiO 2 with excellent self-cleaning. Pretreatment of CA fabrics with H 2 O 2 is a pre requisite to guarantee excellent self-cleaning ability. Thermofixation and microwave fixation produces fabrics with very comparable technical properties.