ORIGINAL PAPER The influence of corona treatment and impregnation with colloidal TiO 2 nanoparticles on biodegradability of cotton fabric Brigita Toms ˇic ˇ . Jelena Vasiljevic ´ . Barbara Simonc ˇic ˇ . Marija Radoic ˇic ´ . Maja Radetic ´ Received: 29 May 2017 / Accepted: 15 July 2017 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2017 Abstract This study discusses the effect of corona pre-treatment at atmospheric pressure and subsequent loading of colloidal TiO 2 nanoparticles on the biodegradation behavior of cotton fabric. Biodegra- dation performance of the control and finished sam- ples was evaluated by standard soil burial tests in predetermined periods of 3, 9 and 18 days. Color and breaking strength measurements were utilized for assessment of biodegradation progress. Morphologi- cal and chemical changes induced by biodegradation were analysed by SEM and FT-IR analyses, respec- tively. Colorimetric, morphological and chemical changes induced by the biodegradation process were slightly less prominent on corona pre-treated cotton fabric impregnated with TiO 2 nanoparticles compared to corona treated and control cotton fabric. Although the breaking strength of all samples significantly decreased after 18 days of soil burial, this decline was the least evident on the sample impregnated with TiO 2 nanoparticles. However, taking into account the extent of these differences, the influence of TiO 2 nanoparti- cles on biodegradation rate of cotton fabric, which underwent a combined treatment corona/impregnation with TiO 2 nanoparticles, could be considered as insignificant. These results confirm that chemical modification of cotton fabrics with plasma and sub- sequent loading of TiO 2 still maintained sustainability of cellulose fibres. Keywords Cotton fabric Á Corona Á TiO 2 nanoparticles Á Biodegradation Á Soil burial test Introduction Due to a growing demand for textile goods with antimicrobial, UV protective, antistatic or self-clean- ing properties, some nano-finishing processes have become potentially attractive alternatives to conven- tional finishing treatments. Extensive research on fabrication of textile nanocomposites including metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) (Ag, Cu, ZnO, TiO 2 , Cu 2 O NPs) which meet these demands is still under way (Radetic ´ 2013a, b; Pakdel et al. 2015; Rivero et al. 2015; Wang et al. 2015; Simonc ˇic ˇ and Klemenc ˇic ˇ 2016). Many efforts have been directed towards obtaining long-lasting durability of such effects by enhancing the binding efficiency of NPs. In addition to introduction of binders and spacers (Meilert et al. 2005; Daoud et al. 2008; Mihailovic ´ M. Radetic ´(&) Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia e-mail: maja@tmf.bg.ac.rs B. Toms ˇic ˇ Á J. Vasiljevic ´ Á B. Simonc ˇic ˇ Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia M. Radoic ˇic ´ Vinc ˇa Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia 123 Cellulose DOI 10.1007/s10570-017-1415-6