Cotton Fabric Coated with Ag/ZnO/SiO₂ for Methyl Orange Degradation and Bacterial Suppression in Water Treatment

The present study aimed to develop a multifunctional cotton fabric filter capable of eliminating pathogenic microbes and degrading the organic dyes in polluted wastewater. To achieve this aim, bleached plain weaved cellulosic fabric (BPWCF) was treated by immersion in the nanocomposite solution of Ag/ZnO/SiO₂ and then dried and cured for fixation of nanocomposites onto the surface of BPWCF. Initially, Ag/ZnO/SiO₂ nanocomposite was prepared from silica, zinc, and Ag salts, namely, tetraethyl orthosilicate, zinc nitrate, and silver nitrate, respectively. The results indicated that nanocomposite was prepared (168 nm, PdI value 0.284). After the success of the nanocomposite preparation, it was used for BPWCF treatment to produce efficient multifunctional BPWCF (Ag/ZnO/SiO₂ nanocomposite-loaded BPWCF). The results indicate that methyl orange (MO) could be removed entirely in 120 min of reaction time using the Ag/ZnO/SiO₂ nanocomposite as a catalyst in conjunction with BPWCF to efficiently increase the photocatalytic degradation of MO. Regarding the tested materials’ antibacterial properties, results showed that such promising filter had a vigorous antibacterial action against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that the Ag/ZnO/SiO₂ nanocomposite-loaded BPWCF exhibits excellent multifunctionality, effectively promoting the photocatalytic degradation of wastewater dyes and the inactivation of pathogenic microbes, highlighting its strong potential for application in environmental remediation.