Self-cleaning and superhydrophilic wool by TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposite

Wool fabrics were functionalised using TiO2 and TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposites through a low-temperature sol–gel method. Titanium terta isopropoxide (TTIP) and tetra ethylorthosilicate (TEOS) were employed as precursors of TiO2 and SiO2, respectively. Nanocomposite sols were devised based on three molar ratio percentages of TiO2/SiO2 70:30, 50:50, and 30:70 to investigate the role of each component. The self-cleaning and hydrophilicity of wool fabrics were analysed based on the removal of coffee stain under UV and water droplet contact angle measurements, respectively. It was observed that applying TiO2/SiO2 50:50 and 30:70 sols to wool rendered the fabric superhydrophilic. Fabrics functionalised with TiO2/SiO2 30:70 showed the highest efficiency in stain removal, followed by samples functionalised with TiO2/SiO2 50:50.