Physical and Surface Chemical Analysis of High-Quality Antimicrobial Cotton Fabrics Functionalized with CuO Grown from Different Copper Salts: Experimental and Theoretical Approach.

The emergence of harmful microorganisms poses a public health challenge. Antimicrobial cotton textiles with semiconductor oxides offer a promising solution to mitigate pathogen spread. Here, we study the physicochemical interactions between copper oxides (CuO) and cellulose in cotton fiber functionalized with these same oxides for antimicrobial properties. Fabrics were treated by an exhaust dyeing method using a 2% on-weight-of-fiber (owf) copper precursor with acetate, nitrate, and sulfate anions. Nonfunctionalized (NF) fabrics with a yellow hue turned reddish brown after the functionalization with CuO. Copper (Cu) content in the functionalized fabrics increased by 27-40% compared to 0.009% in the NF fabric. The percentage of Cu exhaustion was higher with the acetate salt than nitrate and sulfate, resulting in darker fabrics according to colorimetry. XPS analysis of cotton suggests a chemical interaction between the hydroxyl groups of cellulose and CuO. The nature and strength of potential interactions between Cu cations and the cellulose surface were investigated using the quantum theory of atoms in molecules and crystals. Based on topological parameters, the interaction between Cu and the hydroxyl groups of cellulose exhibits a covalent character. Furthermore, the XPS spectrum of functionalized fabrics exhibited peaks corresponding to Cu and Cu ions, assigned to the CuO and CuO phases, respectively. Electron diffraction patterns confirmed copper oxide crystalline phases, where CuO was indexed in the cuprite system and CuO in the tenorite system. Regarding morphology, no defined forms of CuO were observed on the cotton surface, regardless of the salt used for treatment. Likewise, all fabrics functionalized with CuO inhibited the growth of and strains by more than 99%. Therefore, cotton fabrics functionalized with a mixture of CuO and CuO have excellent antimicrobial properties that can be used in environments with a high bacterial load.