COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF COATING METHODS ON MORPHOLOGICAL STRUCTURES AND BREATHABILITY OF TIO2 COATED FABRICS

Ungku Nur Ainaa  Ungku Mohd Aziz; Nor Dalila Nor Affandi; Liliana Indrie; Ahmad Mukifza  Harun; Noor Najmi  Bonnia

Ungku Nur Ainaa Ungku Mohd Aziz Universiti Teknologi MARA
Nor Dalila Nor Affandi Universiti Teknologi MARA
Liliana Indrie University of Oradea, Romania.
Ahmad Mukifza Harun University Malaysia Sabah
Noor Najmi Bonnia Universiti Teknologi MARA

Keywords: Coating, titanium dioxide, cotton, morphology, breathability

Abstract

TiO2 (titanium dioxide) has found diverse applications in textile products for self-cleaning and antimicrobial. To optimize the adherence of TiO2 on textiles, several coating methodologies have been implemented on cotton fabric surfaces. However, the effects of these coating techniques on the breathability characteristics of the fabric samples remain largely unexplored. To address this research gap, the present study elucidates the breathability attributes and morphology of TiO2 coated textiles. The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as a binder to increase the adherence of TiO2 on cotton yarn. The study investigated three coating methods denoted as "after"(A), "before"(B), and "simultaneous"(S) methods, respectively. The analysis reveals that the (A) coating method exhibited strong TiO2 adherence to yarn surfaces, accompanied by minimal yarn weight loss (0.11%) compared to the (B) and (S) methods. The SEM micrographs showed that the PDMS was seen to coat over the TiO2 nanoparticles, making the particles trapped and bound to the cotton yarn surface. The presence of TiO2 and PDMS within the coated fabric was confirmed by EDX analysis. The study also found that TiO2 can enhance the breathability properties such as air permeability and water vapour permeability. The (A) method exhibited the highest air permeability with approximately (2577.3 mm/s + 3.3) compared to the (B) and (S) methods. Moreover, the A method and B methods demonstrated good water vapour permeability at about 503.5 g/m2/hr and 442.3 g/m2/hr, respectively. By undertaking this study, an enhanced property of cotton yarn was developed which is suitable for sportswear and casual wear.