Sol-Gel Preparation of TiO2/SiO2 Nanocomposites and Their Application in Self- cleaning Textiles

The present study involves the preparation of TiO2/SiO2 nanocrystals and their application in self-clcaning wool-polyester fabrics. The TiO2/SiO2 nanocrystals were successfully synthesized and deposited onto wool-polyester fabrics using the low-temperature sol-gel technique. The as-prepared nanoeomposites and the nanocomposites coated samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, respectively. The XRD and SEM results showed that the single-phase anatase nanocrystallites were formed and loaded on the fabric surface successfully. The photocatalytic activities of TiO2 -coated and TiO2/SiO2-coated wool-polyester fabrics were measured by studying photodegradation of methylene blue dye. Comparison of the photocatalytic activity of the coated samples reveals superiority of TiO2/SiO2 modified sample with respect to that of pure TiO2 modified sample. Our observations indicate that by applying this technique to the fabrics, self-cleaning materials can be designed for practical application.