Kinza Shahid

Nanoreinforcements increase the stiffness of composite, however, CQDs enhance the toughness, thereby increasing both elongation and strength.

The release of toxic effluents and microfibers during the frequent washings of textiles poses a major threat to the environment. On the one hand, the detrimental effluents from detergents pose a threat to marine biota in peril, and on the other, microplastics have even been found in breastmilk. According to this study, functionalized metal-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles can be immobilized to create fabrics that are hygienic and antibacterial. There is a need to reduce the amount of different detergents, surfactants and chemicals used to remove stains. The manufacture of pristine and Cu-, Ag- and Zn-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles having trace molar ratios of dopant chosen with a simple sol–gel approach using pad–dry–cure silane coupling agents, firstly with the functionalization and then the immobilization of nanoparticles, was successfully performed on cotton fabric. The as-obtained fabrics were evaluated for their crystallinity, chemical functionalities, surface morphologies and elemental compositions. The photodegradation potentials of unfunctionalized materials were assessed in ambient sunshine against five commercial colors. Within three hours of sunshine exposure, according to color strength analysis and antibactericidal activities, 95–98% of the dye was degraded from the functionalized fabric surface. Additionally, the treated content kept its mechanical and comfort qualities.

ZnO and TiO₂ are both well-known electron transport materials; however, an exact comparison of their performance, when fabricated under the same synthesis conditions, is missing in the literature. Considering this, we introduced a viable electrospinning route for the development of highly polycrystalline TiO₂ and ZnO nanofibers for an electron transport material (ETM) of perovskite solar cells and photocatalysts for textiles. Thanks to the effective tuning of band structure and morphology of TiO₂, a significant improvement in performance as compared to ZnO was observed when both were used as photoanodes and photocatalysts. X-ray diffraction detected polycrystalline structural properties and showed that peaks are highly corresponding to TiO₂ and ZnO. Morphological analysis was carried out with a scanning electron microscope, which revealed that nanofibers are long, uniform, and polycrystalline, having diameter in the nano regime. TiO₂ nanofibers are more aligned and electron-supportive for conduction as compared to ZnO nanofibers, which are dense and agglomerated at some points. Optoelectronic properties showed that TiO₂ and ZnO show absorption values in the range of ultraviolet, and visible range and band gap values for TiO₂ and ZnO were 3.3 and 3.2 eV, respectively. The TiO₂ band gap and semiconductor nature was more compatible for ETL as compared to ZnO. Electrical studies revealed that TiO₂ nanofibers have enhanced values of conductivity and sheet carrier mobility as compared to ZnO nanofibers. Therefore, a higher photovoltaic conversion efficiency and antibacterial activity was achieved for TiO₂ nanofibers (10.33%), as compared to ZnO (8.48%). In addition, the antibacterial activity of TiO₂ was also recorded as better than ZnO. Similarly, compared to ZnO nanofibers, TiO₂ nanofibers possess enhanced photoactivity for antimicrobial and dye degradation effects when applied to fabrics.