In situ generation and deposition of nano-ZnO on cotton fabric by hyperbranched polymer for its functional finishing

Due to the advantage of hyperbranched polymers on controlling synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs), this paper presents a method to fabricate ZnO NPs coated cotton fabrics via in situ generation and deposition in one-step reaction with amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (HBP-NH2) to explore its application in textile finishing. Firstly, the mechanism of this reaction was proposed in detail. The treated cotton fabrics were then characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD), and the ultraviolet (UV) protective properties and antibacterial activities of the fabrics were measured. The results indicated that ZnO NPs with a diameter around 80 nm dispersed on the surface of the cotton fabric well, the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) value of the treated cotton fabric was 136 and the bacterial reduction rates against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli both exceeded 99%, when the concentration of HBP-NH2 and zinc nitrate were 16 g/L and 96 mM respectively.