Antimicrobial Cotton Fabric Coated with ZnONPs for Solar-Driven Photocatalysis During Water Purification

This study aims to develop an eco-friendly, multifunctional filter material capable of simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and antimicrobial action. Thus, the study focusess on the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) using algal extract and their utilization for cotton fabrics treatment in order to fabricate ZnONPs-coated cotton fabric material for sustainable water purification. The particle size was established to be approximately 34.2 nm with a polydispersity index (PdI) of 0.377. The treatment of cotton fabric with ZnONPs caused the roughness morphology of the cotton surface. Optimized conditions involved pH = 8, T = 25 °C, and t = 77.5 min, where MG completely degraded on a UV light tube coated by ZnONPs as its photocatalyst due to high production of reactive oxygen species. Further, microbicidal assay exhibited the diameters of clear zone ranging from 32 to 38 mm against some pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans. Likewise, reusability analyses exhibited that after five cycles, the degradation efficiency (%) remained at 76.1%. The safety and the biocompatibility of tested filter materials were confirmed with EC₅₀ values of over 100 as indicated by toxicity tests. The results demonstrate that ZnONPs-coated cotton fabric is a promising eco-friendly material with dual functionality, offering efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and strong antimicrobial activity, making it a viable solution for sustainable water purification.