Plasma-Assisted Green Synthesis of ZnO Directly on Polyethylene Terephthalate Fabric

Abstract

This article presents green in situ synthesis of ZnO directly on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabrics using pomegranate peel extract. The surface of PET was activated by environmentally friendly oxygen plasma, and the process was compared to alkali treatment where the extract of wood ash was used instead of classical chemicals. Sorption analysis showed that the hydrophilic character of the plasma-treated sample was much better than that of the alkali-treated and untreated samples. Both treatments slightly decreased the breaking strength and elongation of the fabric. Scanning electron microscopy, colour measurements, dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and antioxidant activity investigations showed that the ZnO particles were successfully synthesised on alkali- and plasma-treated PET. The liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry results showed that ellagic acid and punicalagin were the most abundant compounds in the pomegranate peel extract that enabled the synthesis of ZnO. The UV protection, amount of ZnO, and uniformity were the highest for the ZnO prepared on the PET samples by the plasma-assisted green synthesis. Additional optical assessment of fabric porosity and thickness measurements confirmed that these fabrics have excellent UV protection due to the presence of ZnO.

A Green Approach to Multifunctional Textiles: ZnO In Situ Synthesis Using Plant Waste Extracts and Gaseous Plasma

“…Due to the hydrophobic properties of the PET fabric, the fabric was pre-treated with oxygen plasma for further investigations. We tested the effect of single (i), double (ii) and triple (iii) plasma treatments (before immersion in alkali (i), alkali and zinc precursor (ii), or alkali, zinc precursor and reducing agent (iii)) of the PET fabric [18] and lastly, compared the activation of the PET substrate by alkali and plasma [19].…”

“…As the primary goal of this comprehensive study was to make the in situ synthesis of ZnO on textiles as environmentally friendly as possible, and as alkaline PET pre-treatment has shown a favourable effect on ZnO formation, we further investigated whether plasma treatment has a sufficiently strong effect on polymer activation for successful ZnO synthesis without the use of alkali in the first step of the synthesis [19]. The results showed [19] that with both activation processes, a successful formation of ZnO particles can be achieved.…”

“…As the primary goal of this comprehensive study was to make the in situ synthesis of ZnO on textiles as environmentally friendly as possible, and as alkaline PET pre-treatment has shown a favourable effect on ZnO formation, we further investigated whether plasma treatment has a sufficiently strong effect on polymer activation for successful ZnO synthesis without the use of alkali in the first step of the synthesis [19]. The results showed [19] that with both activation processes, a successful formation of ZnO particles can be achieved. Although, the water uptake analysis (Figure 18) showed that the sample activated in oxygen plasma had a better water uptake than the alkali-activated sample, suggesting that the plasma treatment produced more oxygen-rich functional groups on the PET substrate surface, which increased the hydrophilicity.…”