Natural polysaccharide-dominated synthesis of MnO2 nanoparticles as textile coating for efficiently removing indoor bacteria and air pollutants

Nowadays, new demands for improving living standards have posed novel challenges to traditional home textiles, and the development of   nano-engineered functional textiles for improving indoor environmental quality has garnered considerable interest. However, the potential toxicity and poor fastness of nanoparticles have significantly impeded their applications in textiles. Herein, a facile strategy for synthesizing manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) was presented through a hydrothermal method by using natural polysaccharides such as inulin, chitosan oligosaccharide, and alginate as reductants. The ‘one-stone-three-birds’ behaviors of natural polysaccharides were thoroughly explored, including reducing permanganate into MnO 2 , directing the assembly of nanoparticles, and ensuring their stability in aqueous solutions. Notably, inulin can efficiently regulate the synthesis of MnO 2 particles, and as-prepared MnO 2 exhibited distinct flower-like morphologies with higher crystallinity, rich surface adsorbed oxygen species, and encouraging ability of formaldehyde (HCHO) removal and antibacterial activity. Furthermore, without supplemental binder or catalyst, the multifunctional textile of C-MnO 2 was readily fabricated by simply immersing cotton fabric into MnO 2-Inu solution, and the obtained textile demonstrated satisfactory antibacterial performance under both dark and light irradiation conditions. Moreover, the obtained HCHO removal and UV-blocking properties were also encouraging. This inulin-dominated reduction and template synthesis of MnO 2 particles was first reported, and the presented technique of regulating particle synthesis and textile decoration paves the way for the application fields in multifunctional and sustainable home textiles.