SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBON QUANTUM DOTS (CQDS)/ZNO NANOCOMPOSITES: APPLICATION TO TEXTILES FOR EFFICIENT ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS AND PARTICULATE MATTER REMOVAL

Particulate matter (PM) and organic contaminants present a significant health problem due to their small size and complicated composition. Herein, we proposed carbon quantum dots (CQDs)/ZnO nanocomposite coated on cheap and widely available fibrous materials, which are textiles (silk, cotton, and polyester) that have the ability to remove PM and organic contaminants. The CQDs/ZnO nanocomposites were fabricated using a facile hydrothermal approach from CQDs that were obtained from biowaste tamarind shells. Coated textiles with CQDs/ZnO nanocomposites were tested with PM and photocatalytic activity using methylene blue (MB) as a model organic contaminant. The presence of CQDs on CQDs/ZnO nanocomposites can improve the filtration efficiency of textiles by ~8% of silk, ~22% of cotton, and ~38% of polyester. The result showed that cotton-CQDs/ZnO have the best removal efficiency (88.5% for PM10 and 88% for PM2.5) and demonstrated excellent washable reusability. In addition, textile-CQDs/ZnO exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity with 7.1, 7.4, and 9.1 times better than uncoated silk, cotton, and polyester, respectively, under UV light. The unique properties of CQDs, such as their high surface area, rich functional groups, and charge separation, combined with the adsorption capability and physical properties of ZnO, can contribute to PM capture and organic contaminants removal effectively. Thus, due to several properties and compatibility with various types of textiles, the CQDs/ZnO nanocomposites can be easily integrated into existing air filtration systems to remove air pollution