International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 242 (2023) 124916 Available online 3 June 2023 0141-8130/© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Review Improved cotton fabrics properties using zinc oxide-based nanomaterials: A review Roya Mohammadipour-Nodoushan a , Shahla Shekarriz a, * , Zahra Shariatinia b, * , Abolfazl Heydari c , Majid Montazer d a Color and Polymer Research Centre, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), 15875-4413 Tehran, Iran b Department of Chemistry, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), 15875-4413 Tehran, Iran c Polymer Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravsk´ a cesta 9, 845 41 Bratislava, Slovakia d Department of Textile Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), 15875-4413 Tehran, Iran A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Cotton fabrics Zinc oxide-based nanomaterials Functional properties Energy harvesting Environmental cleaning ABSTRACT Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have gained signifcant attention in the textile industry for their ability to enhance the physicochemical properties of fabrics. In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the development of ZnO-based nanomaterials and their applications for cotton and other fabrics. This review paper provides an overview of the synthesis and diverse applications of ZnO-based nanomaterials for textile fabrics, including protection against UV irradiation, bacteria, fungi, microwave, electromagnetic radiation, water, and fre. Furthermore, the study offers the potential of these materials in energy harvesting applications, such as wearable pressure sensors, piezoelectric nanogenerators, supercapacitors, and human energy harvesting. Addi- tionally, we discuss the potential of ZnO-based nanomaterials for environmental cleaning, including water, oil, and solid cleaning. The current research in this area has focused on various materials used to prepare ZnO-based nanocomposites, such as metals/nonmetals, semiconductors, metal oxides, carbon materials, polymers, MXene, metal-organic frameworks, and layered double hydroxides. The fndings of this review highlight the potential of ZnO-based nanomaterials to improve the performance of textile fabrics in a range of applications, and the importance of continued research in this feld to further advance the development and use of ZnO-based nanomaterials in the textile industry. 1. Introduction Cotton textiles are among the most frequently used fabrics world- wide. Cotton is an organic material obtained the fbers close to cotton plant seeds that shows round and fuffy shape in mature seeds [1–3]. In fact, cotton is a natural, bio-based, and ever-present textile that widely applied in clothing, industries, decoration, and transportation because it exhibits valuable properties such as softness, comfort, breathability, and biodegradability [4–6]. Cotton plant is also grown in desert and dry areas as its crop is resistant to hard climate conditions [7–9]. Though 2.1 % of farm lands in world are used to grow cotton crops, 27 % of textiles are universally made using cotton. However, cotton reveals Abbreviations: ZnO NPs, zinc oxide nanoparticles; UV, ultra violet; Au, gold; Ag, silver; Pd, palladium; Pt, platinum; Ru, ruthenium; TiO 2 , titanium dioxide; SnO 2 , tin(IV) oxide; Fe 2 O 3 , iron(III)oxide; ZnS, zinc sulfde; CB, conductive band; VB, valence band; ROS, reactive oxygen species; N, nitrogen; C, carbon; CNTs, carbon nanotubes; GO, graphene oxide; PVSQ, polyvinylsilsesquioxane; PVP, Poly-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone; PVA, polyvinil alcohol; GPTMS, 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethox- ysilane; TEOS, tetraethylortosilicat; UPF, ultraviolet protection factor; PET, polyethylene terephthalate; WCA, water contact angle; H 2 O 2 , hydrogen peroxide; •OH, hydrogen radical; O 2  , super oxide anion; EMI, electromagnetic interference; APTMS, 3- aminopropyltrimethoxy silane; Gr, graphene; ppy, polypyrrole; CuO, cupric axide; BTCA, 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid; CuS, Copper monosulfde; DMDAAC, diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride; AGE, allyl glycidyl ether AGE; E.coli, Escherichia coli; S.aureus, Staphylococcus aureus; MB, methylene blue; MA, microwave absorption; MOF, metal organic framework; PENGs, piezoelectric nano- generators; CC, carbon cloth; NR, nano rod; NF, nano fake; LDH, layered double hydroxide; SE, shielding effciency; SA, succinic acid; MDPA, N-Methyloldimethyl phosphonopropionamide; ODS, octadecyltrimethoxysilane; gadolinium, Gd; PEDOT: PSS, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate); Pd NPs, palla- dium nanoparticles; PAONs, polyamino oxanorbornenes; hexadecyltrimethoxysilane, HDTMS; trimethoxy(octadecyl) silane, OTMS; HDMS, hexadecyltrimethoxysilane.. * Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses: shahlashekarriz@aut.ac.ir (S. Shekarriz), shariati@aut.ac.ir (Z. Shariatinia). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Biological Macromolecules journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijbiomac https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124916 Received 27 March 2023; Received in revised form 5 May 2023; Accepted 13 May 2023