Self-cleaning and self-sanitizing coatings on plastic fabrics: Design, manufacture and performance

Self-cleaning and self-sanitizing coatings are of utmost interest in several manufacturing domains. In particular, fabrics and textile materials are often pre-treated by impregnation or incorporation with antimicrobial pesticides for protection purposes against bacteria and fungi that are pathogenic for man or other animals. In this respect, the present investigation deals with the design and manufacture of self-cleaning and self-sanitizing coatings on plastic fabrics. The functionalization of the coatings was yield by incorporating active inorganic matter alone (i.e., photo-catalytic TiO2 anatase and Ag+ ions) inside an organic inorganic hybrid binder. The achieved formulations were deposited on coextruded polyvinylchloride–polyester fabrics by air-mix spraying and left to dry at ambient temperature. The performance of the resulting coatings were characterized for their self-cleaning and self-sanitizing ability according to standardized testing procedure and/or applicable international regulations.