Antibacterial property and characterization of cotton fabric treated with chitosan/AgCl–TiO2 colloid

Antibacterial property of cotton fabric against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. •Antibacterial property cotton fabric was prepared using chitosan/AgCl–TiO2 colloid.•BR of 100% and 98% achieved against S. aureus and E. coli respectively.•The optimized concentrations were 4g/L for chitosan and 10g/L for AgCl–TiO2 colloid.•Proposed work provides a rationale for direct industrial application. The antibacterial activity of cotton fabric was studied by using chitosan/AgCl–TiO2 colloid. Different blend ratios of chitosan to AgCl–TiO2 colloid were used to investigate the efficacy of antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive) and Escherichia coli (gram negative) and its effect on physical properties of cotton fabric. Our study shows that the combination of chitosan with AgCl–TiO2 colloid produced better antibacterial activity than the fabric treated without chitosan; 100% bacterial reduction against S. aureus and E. coli obtained with chitosan/AgCl–TiO2 colloid at concentrations of 4g/L and 10g/L respectively. Moreover, the treated cotton indicates improved tensile strength and wrinkle recovery angle (WRA). Increasing chitosan concentration slightly affected the fabric stiffness and whiteness. The treated cotton fabrics were further characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and wide angle X-ray (WAXD). We can expect a direct industrial application of our proposed work because it is simple one go pad-dry-cure method and the low cost commercial grades of chitosan and AgCl–TiO2 are conveniently available in the market.