Poling effect on piezocatalytic antibacterial and dye degradation activities of BaTiO3 nanoparticles embedded cotton fabric

Poled and unpoled BaTiO3 nanoparticles (NPs) were coated onto the cotton surface by screen printing. The piezocatalytic antibacterial and dye degradation activities of the coated samples were assessed by ultrasonication method. The prepared samples were tested for reduction against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria. After 2 h contact period, E. coli and S. aureus were reduced by 99.8% and 97.7%, respectively, by the poled BT embedded fabric, while unpoled BT-NPs loaded cotton reduced these bacteria by 96.5% and 95.2%, respectively. In contrast to the 60% and 29% degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye observed for unpoled BT-NPs coated cloth and pristine cotton in 75 min, respectively, poled BT-NPs coated fabric degraded MB dye by 82%.