The paper presents a successful, simple method for the preparation and deposition of new hybrid Cu-doped ZnO/microcellulose coatings on textile fibers, directly from cellulose aqueous solution. The morphological, compositional, and structural properties of the obtained materials were investigated using different characterization methods, such as SEM-EDX, XRD, Raman and FTIR, as well as BET surface area measurements. The successful doping of ZnO NPs with Cu was confirmed by the EDX and Raman analysis. As a result of Cu doping, the hybrid NPs experienced a phase change from ZnO to (Zn0.9Cu0.1)O, as shown by the XRD results. All the hybrid NPs exhibited a high degree of crystallinity, as revealed by the very sharp reflections in XRD patterns and suggested also by the Raman results. The evaluation of the very low copper-doping (0.1-1 at.%) effect has shown different behavior trends of the hybrid coatings compared with the starting oxide NPs, for MB and MO photodegradation. Continuous increases up to 92% and 60% for MB and MO degradation, respectively, were obtained at maximum 1 at.%-Cu doping coatings. Strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli were observed.
Keywords: Cu-doped ZnO; antimicrobial activity; microcellulose; nanostructured hybrid coating; photocatalytic activity; polyester/cotton fiber.