Endowing viscose fabric ultraviolet and antibacterial activities using zinc oxide nanoparticles

To enhance the bioactive functionality of viscose fabrics by way of a new eco-friendly approach, novel green zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were biosynthesized and incorporated as functional additives in the finishing formulations encompassing citric acid as a green cross-linking 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 having particle size ranged of 80–100 nm as a green reducing and stabilizing agent for substituting the traditionally used toxic reducing agents. The Zetasizer determined that the ZnO-NPs were approximately tailored at 18–20 nm in size, while the ultraviolet–visible spectra revealed highly symmetric single-band absorption with a maximum peak around 382 nm. In contrast, both Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy 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 an ultraviolet protection factor of 34.07 compared with 4.0 for untreated fabric, and the antibacterial activities had very good bacteriostatic activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria, compared with zero for untreated fabric. Furthermore, how the finishing bath ingredients interact with the fabric was projected.