Characterization and analysis of the active contents of nano-chemicals for textile application

In this paper, two nano-chemicals in the form of nano-suspensions were obtained commercially from the market. These two nano-chemicals were claimed to have UV-protective and anti-bacterial functions, but the active ingredients of these nano-chemicals were not disclosed. This was commonly found in commercial nano-chemicals used for textile application. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to use some simple analytical methods for evaluating the active ingredients of the nano-chemicals and hence provide an evaluation procedure for the industry. The particle sizes of the nano-suspensions were examined with a particle size analyzer. The results revealed that originally most of the particles of anti-bacterial nano-suspension fell into the range between 400 nm to 640 nm, but upon ultrasonic method for further dispersion, the particle size was confirmed to be smaller than 100 nm. In the case of UV-protective nano-suspension, its particle size was smaller than 100 nm. The active contents were characterized and analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer and it was revealed that the major metals present in these nano-suspension were silver, titanium, and zinc with different concentrations. Also the major organic compositions of the nano-suspensions were identified by a GC/MS spectrometry. The results were qualitatively and quantitatively discussed.