Functional finishing of cotton fabrics using zinc oxide-soluble starch nanocomposites Vigneshwaran, Nadanathangam; Kumar, Sampath; Kathe, A A; Varadarajan, P V; Prasad, Virendra [Nanotechnology Research Group, Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Adenwala Road, Matunga, Mumbai 400 019 (India)] 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; COMPOSITE MATERIALS; COTTON; GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS; KLEBSIELLA; NANOSTRUCTURES; SODIUM HYDROXIDES; STAPHYLOCOCCUS; STARCH; TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; X-RAY DIFFRACTION; ZINC NITRATES; ZINC OXIDES Zinc oxide-soluble starch nanocomposites (nano-ZnO) synthesized using water as a solvent and soluble starch as a stabilizer is impregnated onto cotton fabrics to impart antibacterial and UV-protection functions. Nano-ZnO synthesized by reacting zinc nitrate with sodium hydroxide in the presence of soluble starch absorbed strongly at 361 nm due to the quantum confinement effect. The average size of ZnO nanoparticles is estimated to be 38 {+-} 3 nm using a transmission electron microscope (TEM); this was confirmed by x-ray diffraction analysis and the effective mass approximation method. The starch content in synthesized nano-ZnO was estimated to be 37.57% using thermo-gravimetric analysis. The nano-ZnO impregnated cotton fabrics showed excellent antibacterial activity against two representative bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram negative). Also, nano-ZnO impregnation enhanced the protection of cotton fabrics against UV radiation in comparison with the untreated cotton fabrics. Available online at http://stacks.iop.org/0957-4484/17/5087/nano6_20_008.pdf or at the Web site for the journal Nanotechnology (Print) (ISSN 1361-6528 ) http://www.iop.org/;INIS United Kingdom 2006-10-28 English Journal Article Journal Name: Nanotechnology (Print); Journal Volume: 17; Journal Issue: 20; Other Information: PII: S0957-4484(06)28637-9; DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/17/20/008; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Medium: X; Size: page(s) 5087-5095 https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/17/20/008; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA) [] 20 17 Journal ID: ISSN 0957-4484; TRN: GB06P7117010792 GBN 2010-12-31 20836954