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Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide has been prepared under ambient pressure and at temperatures close to or approaching room temperature using hydrolysis of titanium tetraisopropoxide in an acidic aqueous solution. A transparent thin layer of nanocrystalline titania has been produced on cotton textiles by a dip-pad-dry-cure process. These TiO 2 coated cotton textiles possess significant photocatalytic self-cleaning properties, such as bactericidal activity, colorant stain decomposition and degradation of red wine and coffee stains. The UV absorption and tearing strength of the TiO 2 coated cotton has also been studied. Self-cleaning cotton may find potential commercialization in the textile industry.

Cotton is one of the most important raw materials for textile and clothing production. Compared with some synthetic polymer fibers, the main drawback of cotton fibers is its poor mechanical properties and its high flammability, and therefore it can not be used for special textiles. Cotton fabrics treated with modern flame-retardant and reinforcement finishes often can not meet rigid military specifications. In this paper, we show the functionalization of common cotton fibers with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNT network armors have been fabricated on the surface of cotton fibers using a simple dipping coating method. Due to the reinforcement and protection of CNTs, the cotton textiles exhibit enhanced mechanical properties, extraordinary flame retardancy, improved UV-blocking and super water repellent properties. Considering the exceptional electronic properties of CNTs, these CNTs functionalized cotton fibers will find a variety of applications in high performance fabrics and smart textiles. The method developed in this paper also provides a simple surface coating method to produce CNT-polymer hybrid materials.

Anatase TiO 2 /SiO 2 nanocomposites were prepared by a sol-gel process at a low temperature. The structural properties of these as-prepared nanocomposites were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), showing that TiO 2 nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of SiO 2 spheres. The spherical TiO 2 /SiO 2 nanocomposites were coated onto cotton fabrics by a simple dip-pad-dry-cure process. The treated cotton fabrics demonstrated higher photocatalytic activity in comparison to pure TiO 2 treated cotton fabrics in a typical photocatalytic test using a model compound of Neolan Blue 2G dye. Our results demonstrate that this composite material is a step towards better self-cleaning performance of textile materials.

Proteinic fibers, capable of converting incident light to self-cleaning power to decompose its contamination and harmful microorganisms in a process of photocatalytic purification, are very interesting materials for various applications. In this contribution, self-cleaning keratin fibers have been realized following a bottom-up nanotechnology approach.