Herein, the amino-capped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using tetrabutyl titanate and amino polymers by a two-step sol-gel and hydrothermal method technique for the fabrication of functional cotton fabric. The prepared TiO2 nanoparticles and the treated cotton fabric were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microcopy (FE-SEM) photocatalytic and antibacterial measurement. The results indicate the typical characteristic anatase form of the amino-capped TiO2 NPs with an average crystallite size of 14.9 nm. The treated cotton fabrics exhibit excellent antibacterial property and good photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.

To improve the adsorption performance of carbon materials, novel ZnO nanoparticle-incorporated porous carbon nanofibers (Zn@PCNFs) were prepared via an electrospinning technique. A facile one-step fabrication strategy was proposed to simultaneously complete the carbonization of a peroxided polyacrylonitrile framework, the activating treatment caused by ZnO reducing to Zn, and the pore generation caused by evaporation of reduced Zn with a low melting point. The influences of the pH, ion category, and concentration on methylene blue adsorption were investigated. The physical–chemical characterizations showed that ZnO was homogeneously distributed on the nanofibers and micropores were generated. The adsorption results revealed that an efficient adsorption was obtained within a large range of pH values through different adsorption models, which was accelerated by increasing the temperature. Therefore, the novel Zn@PCNFs are anticipated to be applied in the future as an effective dye waste adsorbent.

In situ synthesis of Ag-NPs on EPDA-HBP-grafted cotton fabric.

Epoxy is an important resin matrix and has been widely applied in laminated composites as a coating or adhesive material. In this article, the phenolic was applied to modify the mechanical properties of epoxy resin. The phenolic modified epoxy resins with various phenolic content were prepared via a polytetrafluoroethylene mould, and the phenolic modified epoxy-based plain woven laminated composites (PWLCs) were manufactured via vacuum assisted resin transfer method for further study of phenolic modified epoxy resins’ mechanical properties. The compression tests were performed perpendicularly to thickness at 2 mm/min to investigate the mechanical performances of phenolic modified epoxy resins and epoxy-based PWLCs. The results showed that the addition of phenolic into epoxy could improve the mechanical performances of epoxy resins and epoxy-based composites at room temperature, and the phenolic influenced epoxy-based PWLC more than epoxy matrix at room temperature. However, at high temperatures, the addition of phenolic decreased the mechanical performances of epoxy resins and epoxy-based composites, and the adverse effect of phenolic became more serious with the increase of phenolic content at high temperature. In addition, the thermogravimetric analyses were also conducted from 30 °C to 800 °C on phenolic modified epoxy resins and the results showed that the phenolic modified epoxy resin had an earlier loss in weight than unmodified epoxy resin. The earlier loss in weight meant that the addition of phenolic into epoxy resin led to the formation of unstable molecules at high temperature.