Hydrothermal Growth of ZnO Nanostructures on Nylon Fabrics
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Hydrothermal Growth of ZnO Nanostructures on Nylon Fabrics Thushara J. Athauda, and Ruya R. Ozer* Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Tulsa, OK, 74104, U.S. ABSTRACT We present a facile approach for growing radially oriented and dense ZnO nanorods and nanoneedles on the commercially available nylon fabrics by a simple, two-step wet chemical route. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV-Vis transmission spectroscopy, and wettability measurements. It was observed that the morphology of the resulting ZnO nanostructures strongly depended on the hydrothermal growth conditions. Excellent UV blocking activities were observed for ZnO nanorods containing nylon textiles in the wavelength region of 280-400 nm. Superhydrophobicity was achieved, for both ZnO nanorods and nanoneedles treated nylon fabric, upon 10mM 1-dodecanethiol treatment. ZnO nanostructures were durably attached to the nylon fabric after stirring 2 h in deionized water. INTRODUCTION Development of highly oriented, robust, and dense metal-oxide structures on flexible substrates have been a growing interest due to their many potential uses in wearable electronics and portable photovoltaics applications [1]. Although ZnO nanorods have been grown on various flexible substrates, such as cotton [2–4], nylon [5], and paper [6]; and have been subjected to detailed structural and optical characterizations, elucidating the fundamental principles underlying processing-structure relationships are critical to tailoring multifunctional materials. ZnO nanostructures have mostly been grown on rigid substrates, such as ITO-glass electrodes, for application in sensors, displays, solar cells, piezoelectric and UV light emitting devices [7]. Growing solution-based uniform, well-aligned ZnO nanostructures on flexible substrates poses additional engineering challenges such as weak interaction with the surface causing poor adhesion and performance loss with use, and non-uniform coating; and this aspect has received relatively less attention. Albeit difficulties, combining the flexible substrates such as woven or non-woven fibers with the structural, chemical, and functional stability of metal oxides may pave the way for flexible even to wearable electronics and electronic papers [8,9]. Herein we report a facile approach for and thorough characterization of the radially oriented and dense ZnO nanorods and nanoneedles that were grown on the commercially available nylon fabrics by a simple, two-step wet chemical route. Two step wet chemical route consists of seeding the substrate with ZnO nanoparticles followed by the growth of ZnO nanostructures which are preferentially oriented along c-axis. We observed that the morphology of the ZnO nanostructures affect the hydrophobicity of the surfaces. EXPERIMENTAL Cleaning of the nylon fabrics: The nylon fabric was scoured to remove impurities before functionalization. Then, small nylon swatches (1 cm x 1 cm) were pasted on the glass microscope cover slips f
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