Concurrent Antimicrobial and Anticrease of Bleached and Cationic Cotton Using Nano Titanium Dioxide and Butane Tetracarboxylic Acid

The simultaneous cross-linking and antimicrobial finishing of bleached cotton and cationized cotton by 3-chloro2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (Quat-188) with butane tetracarboxylic acid and nano titanium dioxide is studied and explored in the current study. Butane tetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) as a cross-linking agent can be linked to the cotton cellulosic chains by covalent bonds and to the cationized cotton by ionic bonds. Different concentrations of nano titanium dioxide and BTCA were examined to obtain the highest crosslinking and antimicrobial effects. Certain haracteristics of the samples such as antimicrobial against different microorganisms including two gram positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococous aureus), one gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and one fungi (Candida albicans), crease recovery angle, bending length, yellowness index,weight changes, water drop absorption time were investigated. The results showed that both the bleached cotton and cationized cotton can be finished by optimum concentration of nano titanium dioxide and BTCA for producing cotton fabric with anticrease and antimicrobial properties.