Novel photo and bio-active greyish-black cotton fabric through air- and nitrogen- carbonized zinc-based MOF for developing durable functional textiles

This study explores the potential of using the carbonization of Zn-based metal-organic frameworks (Zn-MOF-5) under N2 and air to modify zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle for the production of various photo and bio-active greyish-black cotton fabrics. The MOF-derived ZnO under N2 demonstrated a significantly higher specific surface area (259 m2g−1) compared to ZnO (12 m2g−1) and MOF-derived ZnO under air (41.6 m2 g−1). The products were characterized using various techniques, including FTIR, XRD, XPS, FE-SEM, TEM, HRTEM, TGA, DLS, and EDS. The tensile strength and dye degradation properties of the treated fabrics were also investigated. The results indicate that the high dye degradation capability of MOF-derived ZnO under N2 is likely due to the lower ZnO band gap energy and improvement in electron-hole pair stability. Additionally, the antibacterial activities of the treated fabrics against Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated. The cytotoxicity of the fabrics was studied on human fibroblast cell lines using an MTT assay. The study findings demonstrate that the cotton fabric covered with carbonized Zn-MOF under N2 is human-cell compatible while showing high antibacterial activities and stability against washing, highlighting its potential for use in developing functional textiles with enhanced properties.