Cotton textile fibres coated by Au/TiO2 films: Synthesis, characterization and self cleaning properties

Au/TiO2 cotton nanocomposite textile was prepared at low temperature (∼100 °C) by sol–gel and photodeposition process designed for practical applications. The Au/TiO2 nanoparticles have been found to form a homogeneous thin film on the fibre surface and to show efficient photocatalytic properties upon exposure to solar light. Stains cleaning measurements showed that the gold/TiO2-coated cotton fibres possess photocatalytic activity higher than that of TiO2-cotton fibres. For this reason the produced composite cotton fibres display high potential and commercial importance for visible light self cleaning properties. The original and treated fibres have been characterized by several techniques (SEM, HRTEM, FTIR, Raman, UV–vis spectroscopy and XRD).