Preparation and Performance Study of Self-Cleaning TiO2/Kaolin-Finished Cotton Fabric

TiO 2 /kaolin was first synthesized by using ultrasound-sol–gel method and then deposited onto the surface of cotton fabrics through two dipping and two rolling process. To investigate the properties of this TiO 2 /kaolin-finished cotton fabric, TiO 2 /kaolin/cotton composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrum and energy dispersive spectrometer, while the surface morphologies of the cotton fabrics were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The whiteness, air permeability, breaking strength and elongation of TiO 2 /kaolin/cotton composites were, respectively, measured and the results showed that all these parameters decreased slightly with the appearance of TiO 2 /kaolin. The UPF value of TiO 2 /kaolin/cotton composites was significantly enhanced to 100+ , even if after soaping for 30 times, which might be due to the synergistic effect of kaolin and TiO 2 . In addition, the performance such as hand feel attributes, softness, smoothness and stiffness were measured by PhabrOmeter, respectively. The stiffness of all finished fabrics was obviously better than that of the unfinished cotton. However, the softness and smoothness of finished fabrics were slightly decreased compared to unfinished cotton. Rhodamine B was used as a test contaminant to qualitatively assess the self-cleaning properties of the TiO 2 /kaolin-finished cotton fabric. The removal of Rhodamine B indicated that the TiO 2 /kaolin-finished fabric exhibited excellent photocatalytic properties. This study illustrates the great potential of the low-cost kaolin powder as an efficient finishing agent for the fabric finishing process, and meanwhile provides a novel suggestion for fabric modification.