Use of photocatalytic materials on textile surfacessummary

In line with the environmental sustainability goals of the textile industry, critical needs such as energy efficiency and water conservation have increased the importance of surface functionalization. In this context, the development of self-cleaning textile surfaces offers great potential in terms of both eco-friendly production approaches and user comfort. This thesis focuses on imparting photocatalytic activity to textile surfaces by applying polyaniline (PANI), a conductive polymer, via chemical polymerization, thereby enabling the self-cleaning functionality. Polyaniline stands out among conductive polymers due to its low-cost monomer (aniline), ease of synthesis, and the ability to be doped in acidic environments without requiring redox reactions. This allows the doping process to be carried out simply and economically. In addition, PANI exhibits high stability against moisture, oxygen, and temperature, further enhancing its suitability for textile applications. During this process, chemical polarization occurs, which refers to changes in the electron distribution and molecular structure of polyaniline. This phenomenon directly affects the electrical conductivity and photocatalytic performance of the polymer coating on the textile surface. In particular, the orientation of polar groups contributes to enhanced water- and stain-repellent properties. In this study, polyester/cotton blend fabrics were coated with varying amounts of aniline (0.1 mL, 0.3 mL, 0.5 mL, and 0.7 mL). Ammonium persulfate (APS) was used as the initiator in the polymerization reaction. The photocatalytic performance of the resulting PANI-coated textiles was evaluated by monitoring the degradation of methylene blue dye solution using UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The effect of aniline concentration on photocatalytic efficiency was comparatively analyzed through logarithmic degradation kinetics and percentage color removal (%). The results indicated that coatings prepared with 0.3 mL and 0.5 mL of aniline exhibited higher degradation efficiency. This finding revealed that the system reaches a saturation point and that optimizing the aniline concentration is a critical factor for enhancing photocatalytic performance. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that PANI-coated textile surfaces gain self-cleaning properties under sunlight and that this technology holds significant potential for sustainable textile production.