Protective Cotton Textiles via Amalgamation of Cross-Linked Zeolitic Imidazole Frameworks

Production of protective textiles against solar radiation and microbial pathogens has been progressively considered in the area of the textile industry to rescue the human health. In this regard, herein, a novel technique for the preparation of multifunctional textiles via incorporation of silicate and zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs) has been systematically studied. ZIF(Ni), ZIF-8(Zn), and ZIF-67(Co) as three different ZIFs were formed directly within the cotton fabrics before and after silicate modification. Due to their cross-linking effect, insertion of silicate first increased the amount of adsorbed MOF onto fabrics from 101.8–108.6 to 141.6–149.1 mg/g. The direct formation of ZIF within cotton fabrics was confirmed by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectra. After modification with ZIF(Ni) and ZIF-67(Co), the cotton fabrics gained brown and purple decorative colors, respectively, with good fastness properties. Modification of cotton fabrics with silicate followed by ZIF(Ni) showed excellent UV protection (UPF = 47) and lowered to very good protection (UPF = 36.3) after five repetitive washings. Even after five repetitive washings, the fabrics modified with ZIF(Ni) and ZIF-67(Co) exhibited excellent and good antimicrobial activity, respectively, against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. Durable and protective cotton textiles with a desired decorative color were designed successfully by incorporation of silicate followed by ZIF(Ni) and ZIF-67(Co) through using a simple strategy that is easily applicable in the textile industry.