Characterization and photocatalytic properties of cotton fibers modified with ZnO nanoparticles using sol-gel spin coating technique

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were prepared using the sol-gel method. Cotton fibers were loaded with ZnO nanoparticles using sol-gel spin coating technique. The prepared ZnO NPs and ZnO-coated cotton were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The self-cleaning property of ZnO-coated cotton and the photocatalytic removal of methyl orange dye from the contaminated water and cotton fibers were studied by measuring the optical absorbance after exposure to sunlight and Philips 200W lamp illumination. The results showed that the cotton loaded with ZnO nanoparticles could efficiently decompose 73% of methyl orange dye in the sunlight and 30.7% in the lamp illumination after 12 hours. ZnO nanoparticles decomposed methyl orange dye by 92.7% in the sunlight and 26.4% in the lamp illumination after 7 hours.