Endowing viscose fabric ultraviolet and antibacterial activities using zinc oxide nanoparticles

To enhance the bioactive functionality of viscose fabrics via a new eco-friendly approach; novel green zinc oxide nanoparticles were biosynthesized and incorporated as functional additives in the finishing formulations encompassing citric acid as a green crosslinking agent and sodium hypophosphite as a potential catalyst using pad-dry-cure method. For this purpose, ZnO-NPs were biosynthesized using zinc acetate as a processor and our formerly prepared and fully characterized starch nanoparticles (SNPs) having particle size ranged from 80-100 nm as a green reducing and stabilizing agent for substituting the traditionally used toxic reducing agents. The zeta sizer determined that the ZnO-NPs were approximately tailored at 18-20 nm in size, while the UV-visible spectra revealed highly symmetric single-band absorption with a maximum peak around 382 nm. In contrast, both FTIR and SEM of finished viscose fabric in the presence of ZnO-NPs-III confirm the presence of ZnO-NPs and the formation of agglomerated nanostructures on the fabric surface. The finished fabric had a UPF of 34.07 compared to 4.0 for untreated fabric, and the antibacterial activities had very good bacteriostatic activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria, compared to zero for untreated fabric. Furthermore, how the finishing bath ingredients interact with the fabric was projected.