Synthesis of copper nanoparticles on cellulosic fabrics and evaluation of their multifunctional performances

Two different kinds of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) (brown colour and greenish colour) were synthesised by using simple solution route and applied by exhaust method to achieve multidimensional functionalization on one of the most popular cellulose materials e.g., cotton fabric. The synthesised CuNPs imparted different colours to the said textile due to different conditions of synthesis and localized surface plasmon resonance. Physico-chemical characterizations of the synthesized nanoparticles were performed by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis whereas the optical properties of the nanoparticles were studied using UV–visible spectroscopy. The prepared CuNPs of both the types demonstrated very good antimicrobial activity up to 97%. In addition, cotton fabric treated with CuNPs showed very high catalytic activity for reduction of 4-nitroaniline (4-NA) in presence of sodium borohydride to phenylene diamine (4-PD). Washing durability and rubbing fastness of the treated fabric have also been measured by following standard testing methods and found to be very good with a rating 4. Graphical abstract