FLAME RETARDANT AND UV-PROTECTIVE COTTON FABRICS FUNCTIONALIZED WITH COPPER(II) OXIDE NANOPARTICLES

Kiana Anthea  V. Prilla,; Jandre  M. Jacinto,; Lance Johann  O. Ricardo,; Jana Trixia   S. Box,; Aaliyah Beyonce  C. Lim,; Emanuel  F. Francisco,; Gianne Isabel  N. De Vera,; Janres Abram  T. Yaya,; Von Vincent  M. Natividad,; Eric  N. Awi,; Ronnel  Encina,

FLAME RETARDANT AND UV-PROTECTIVE COTTON FABRICS FUNCTIONALIZED WITH COPPER(II) OXIDE NANOPARTICLES

Abstract:

Burn and Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation injury has been one of the threats in the military environment. As the rate of death cases caused by burning and skin diseases dramatically increases, the researchers seek a nanocomposite that can improve the properties of the cotton fabrics such as flame retardant and UV-protective properties. For the enhancement of the functional properties of fabrics, the use of nanotechnology has been one of the solutions. Therefore, the raw material copper (II) chloride was subjected to the synthesis of CuO nanomaterial by chemical precipitation method. The copper (II) oxide was crystallized and became a nanoparticle by annealing it at temperature 200ËšC and 600ËšC respectively. Cotton fabrics were separately functionalized with CuO (bulk), CuO-NPs (200ËšC), and CuO-NPs (600ËšC) by an optimized pad-dry-cure method. The fabrics undergo a flame retardancy test and revealed that CuO (bulk) has a significant flame-retardant property. CuO-NPs (200ËšC) treated fabric possesses higher flame retardancy and CuO-NPs (600ËšC) fabric being the highest. The fabrics were also used for UV analyses to determine their UV-protective properties. The tests stated that CuO has excellent UV-protection. However, the CuO-NPs (200ËšC) fabric has higher UV-protection properties and highest in CuO-NPs (600ËšC) treated fabric. The nanoparticle annealed at the highest temperature (600ËšC) produced the smallest size of nanoparticle which made the CuO attach well to the surface of the fabrics and provide higher functional properties. This study proved that CuO-NPs can be a promising finishing agent for textile materials and be used for consumer and military applications.