HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS OF DOPED ZnO AND TiO2 NANOMATERIALS: OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEXTILE APPLICATIONS

Hydrothermal method is a versatile method that may be used to obtain doped TiO2 and ZnO nanostructures with desired properties to be used as stable suspensions for applications in fabrication of special textiles. XRD spectra revealed TiO2 and ZnO nanopowders having crystallite sizes of 28 nm and 35 nm, respectively. Powders consist from slightly agglomerated nanoparticles that can be easily de-agglomerated and dispersed for application on the textiles surfaces. The strong negative zeta potential of the powder (-40…-60 mV) shows that stable colloidal suspensions are formed. The thermal behavior of textiles embedded with these nanostructured oxides is also improved.