Introduction

The textile business is going through a revolutionary change in an environment where sustainability is becoming increasingly a concern (Gazzola et al. 2020). Conventional textiles made of cotton frequently struggle to remain clean and odor-free. Cotton fabrics are used as medical textiles, such as surgical gowns, sheets, patient pajamas, to health worker uniforms (Fijan et al. 2007). This sort of garment must have a high level of dirt protection. Frequent washing is required to remove stains and odors from daily life, which adds to excessive consumption of energy and water as well as detergent pollution (Goel & Kaur 2012). Recently, researchers have resorted to nanotechnology to solve these problems by utilizing its inherent ability to self-clean (Nozari et al. 2021).

Combining TiO2 nanoparticles with cellulose or cotton surfaces results in a self-cleaning effect (Diaa & Hassabo 2022). TiO2, as a semiconductor, can produce electron–hole pairs that will move to the surface of particles and undergo redox reactions that produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Kim et al. 2002). ROS such as hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and superoxide anions produced are the reason TiO2 can degrade organic pollutants (Liu et al. 2019). TiO2 decomposes organic molecules rapidly and promotes the spread of water on the surface to complete its self-cleaning routine (Lukong et al. 2022). However, electron–hole pairs in TiO2 can undergo rapid recombination, which is a big challenge for practical TiO2 applications (Yang et al. 2022). To improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, hybrid or composite materials are made (Le et al. 2021).

SiO2 can be added to create composite materials that have improved electron–hole pair separation and charge transport (Babyszko et al. 2022). Adding SiO2 contributes to surface acidity, which boosts the hydroxyl content of the composite and improves the self-cleaning performance (Guan 2005). Hydrophilic properties are also essential to ensure the comfort of the fabric when used (Das et al. 2009). Natural silica can be extracted from natural resources by a simple alkali treatment (Borah et al. 2023). Firdaus et al. (2020) successfully extracted silica from the sand of Bengkulu Beach, Indonesia. Natural silica has advantages in the field of catalysts because it is easy to obtain and apply in chemical reaction processes (Elmaria & Jenie 2021). TiO2/SiO2 composites with natural silica perform well in reducing harmful pollutants (Eddy et al. 2020).

Methylene blue is often used as a photocatalyst target for determining self-cleaning activity in several studies (Hosseini et al. 2020; Wei et al. 2022). The color change of methylene blue can be seen and measured using spectroscopy or colorimetry (Karimi et al. 2020; Springer et al. 2020). Digital image colorimetry is economical because it does not require expensive instruments or reagents (Lima et al. 2020). Color analysis is performed using a smartphone built-in camera and freely accessible software (Fan et al. 2021). Methylene blue concentration can be determined utilizing a smartphone-based digital image colorimetry technique with an RGB color response (Permana et al. 2023).

Wu et al. (2009) successfully prepared self-cleaning fabrics against methyl orange by depositing TiO2 nanoparticles on cotton fabrics via an aqueous sol process at low temperatures. TiO2-coated cotton fabrics were prepared under different processing temperatures by Doganli et al. (2016) and showed a self-cleaning activity against hot tea solution. Saleem et al. (2021) synthesized titanium dioxide nanoparticles and coated them over cotton fabrics initiated by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier (DBD) discharge. The plasma-TiO2 fabric demonstrated a strong ability to self-clean against methylene blue. Pakdel & Daoud (2013) functionalized cotton fabric with TiO2/SiO2 using the dip-pad-dry cure technique. The samples coated with TiO2/SiO2 had a better ability to remove coffee stains and degrade methylene blue than samples functionalized with TiO2 only, indicating an improved self-cleaning effect. (Li et al. 2017) used ultrasonic irradiation to synthesize TiO2/SiO2 at low temperatures and deposit nanoparticles onto a polyester-cotton fabric. The TiO2/SiO2 nanoparticles had better photocatalytic activity on treated textiles than pure TiO2 nanoparticles. Our previous study has demonstrated that polyester textiles coated with TiO2 and SiO2 also possess excellent self-cleaning activity (Eddy et al. 2023).

The current work investigates a simple method of preparation of self-cleaning cotton fabrics by depositing TiO2 and natural SiO2 on the cotton fabrics. The self-cleaning effect of the modified cotton fabrics originates from the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 and is enhanced by the hydrophilic properties of SiO2. Here, SiO2 was extracted from Bengkulu Beach sand and combined with TiO2 to improve self-cleaning activity. The modified cotton fabrics were characterized for their superhydrophilic properties from natural SiO2. Using smartphone-based digital image colorimetry (DIC) techniques and methylene blue as the target, this study investigates the self-cleaning activity of cotton fabrics modified with TiO2 and SiO2. The utilization of TiO2 and natural SiO2 composites on cotton fabrics in the form of sols in this study has never been done before.

Materials and methods

Materials

The primary material utilized in this study was white cotton poplin fabric, which weighed 161 g/m2, had a density of 35 threads/cm, and had an entirely cotton composition. Bengkulu Beach sand, Indonesia, used as the main source of natural SiO2. The chemical reagents used were hydrochloric acid (HCl, 37%), acetone (CH3COCH3, 99%), distilled water, ethanol (CH3CH2OH, 99%), isopropanol (CH3CH(OH)CH3, 99%), potassium hydroxide (KOH, 98%), methylene blue (MB), titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP, 97%). All chemical reagents used were purchased from Merck & Co. (Rahway, USA).

Preparation of TiO2 and SiO2 Sols

The process of extracting silica from beach sand refers to previous research by Firdaus et al. (2020). The Bengkulu Beach sand was crushed with a grinder and then sifted with a 325-mesh sieve. Beach sand that passes through the 325-mesh then soaked in HCl 10 mol L-1 for 20 h to remove minerals other than silica. The residue from the mixture was washed with distilled water until neutral. Furthermore, an alkaline fusion reaction was carried out by mixing 30 g of cleaned silica sand with KOH 10 mol L-1, and the mixture was heated at 360 °C for 4 h, K2SiO3 was the product of this process. Next, K2SiO3 dissolved in 500 mL of distilled water, stirred, and left for 24 h. The mixture was filtered, and the filtrate was added with HCl 10 mol L-1 drop by drop until the pH of the mixture reached 1–2 and accompanied by the observation of white gel formation. The formed gel was filtered and washed with aquadest until neutral. The neutral formed gel was used to make SiO2 sols by dilution using ethanol and water.

The preparation of TiO2 sols tends to be simpler because it uses alkoxide precursors. TTIP was added to 20 mL of isopropanol and stirred quickly for 15 min for hydrolysis. Furthermore, distilled water was added to TTIP in isopropanol for the condensation process into a sol and stirred for 15 min. TiO2 sols are ready to use for fabric modification.

TiO2 and SiO2 coating on cotton fabrics

To remove soluble dust and dirt, cotton fabrics were cleaned with acetone under sonication for 10 min, and then ethanol was used for another 10 min of the ultrasonic cleaning process to remove wax and grease. Then, the cotton fabric was washed to remove water-soluble contaminants with distilled water and dried at 50 °C. After that, cleaned cotton fabric is rinsed with aquadest to pH = 7 and dried at 80 °C for 15 min.

Each TiO2 and SiO2 sols mixed to produce TiO2/SiO2 sols. Cotton fabric with a size of 6 cm × 6 cm is immersed in TiO2/SiO2 sols with variations in TiO2 and SiO2 composition according to Table 1. The fabric soaking process was carried out for 5 min with the help of a sonication process. This process was carried out three times to maximize the composite load on the fabric. Then, the fabric was removed and dried in the oven at 80 \(^\circ\) C for 10 min. Next, the curing process was carried out in the oven at 120 \(^\circ\) C for 5 min.

Table 1 Synthesis condition of samples
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Characterization techniques

Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS, Tabletop Microscope-1000, Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan) with an acceleration voltage of 15.0 kV and magnification of 100–5000 times was carried out to determine the surface morphology and mapping of each atom of the fabric. X-ray diffraction (XRD, Rigaku/MiniFlex 600, Tokyo, Japan) was used to examine the crystal structure of the modified using Cu K \(\alpha\) emission (\(\lambda\) = 0.15418 nm), and scans were done in the range of 20–80° (2 \(\theta\)). The crystallite size of the sample was calculated with Eq. (1) (Permana et al. 2022).

$${\text{D}}=\frac{\mathrm{K\lambda }}{\mathrm{Bcos\theta }}$$
(1)

where D is the crystallite size in nm, K is the Scherrer constant (0.9), λ is the wavelength of X-ray radiation (0.15418 nm), B is the value of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) peak (radians), and θ is the diffraction angle (radians).

Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR, Jasco FT/IR-4700, Tokyo, Japan) was used to observe the functional groups that appear on the modified cotton fabric. A micropipette was used to drip 5 \(\mu\) L of distilled water at a distance of 1 cm from the cotton fabric’s surface, and the contact angle on the cotton fabric was measured.

Self-cleaning activity test

The self-cleaning activity of TiO2/SiO2 composites on fabrics was measured by determining MB color change. Fabric samples before and after dipping in MB solution were photographed on a flat surface to determine RGB blanks and RGB before degradation. The fabric was irradiated with a 125 W UV–Vis Phillips HPL-N lamp. The color change of the MB was observed by comparing images taken in a span of 2 h over 6 h of radiation using the Samsung M21 (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., South Korea) smartphone. The characteristics of the Samsung M21 camera are included in Table 2.

Table 2 Characteristic of smartphone digital camera used
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The observed color changes were processed with digital image colorimetry (DIC). ImageJ 1.52a, Excel 2021 (Microsoft Office Home and Student) and Minitab 19 (Minitab Inc.) were used for digital image data processing. The method for determining dye concentration is by immersing the fabric in a series of standard solutions and placing it under constant light and photographic conditions. Image capture was done with three repetitions.

ImageJ software was used to determine the R, G, and B color values of each sample. The RGB color values were converted to a logarithmic scale to obtain color intensity, following the equation of the Lambert–Beer law as follows, Eq. (2).

$${I}_{R,G,B} = {\text{log}}(\frac{{A}_{{0}_{R,G,B}}}{{{A}_{S}}_{R,G,B}})$$
(2)

IR,G,B is the effective intensity of each color red, green and blue, while A0 R,G,B and AS R,G,B are the red, green, and blue color values of the blank and sample respectively. The digital camera works as a spectrophotometer, analyzing light emitted by methylene blue. The intensity displayed is the sum of the digital image's R, G, and B color values. Further analysis of RGB data was performed by Excel and Minitab for simple linear regression and partial least squares, respectively. These calculations were needed to get the equation used for determining the self-cleaning activity.

Particle adhesion stability test

This procedure was carried out to test the stability of modified fabrics according to research by Eddy et al. (2023). The modified fabric is soaked in distilled water, shaken at of 30 rpm for 15 min, and dried at 40 \(^\circ\) C. This process is repeated five times to achieve five cycles.

Result and discussion

Surface analysis

The surface morphology of cotton fabric after treatment can be monitored by SEM measurements shown in Fig. 1. From the SEM results, it can be seen that SiO2 appears as a layer covering the cotton fabric fibers while TiO2 appears as agglomerated white dots. These particles tend to form agglomerations on the surface of cotton fabrics, caused by the adhesion of TiO2/SiO2 composite sols with cotton fabric fibers formed after saturation of the precursors within the cotton fabric fibers (Shaheen et al. 2019). The average particle size is 14 nm.

Fig. 1
figure 1

SEM image of cotton fabrics modified by TiO2, SiO2, and composites TiO2/SiO2

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The EDS measurement results in Table 3 also show the composition of elements following the ratio of TiO2 and SiO2 applied to cotton fabrics. Further observations to determine the elements contained in each sample were carried out by mapping shown in Fig. 2. The mapping results show carbon and oxygen elements with green and blue colors along the cotton fabric fibers, because these carbon and oxygen elements are the constituents of cotton fabric fibers. At the same time, the elements titanium (yellow color) and silicon (red color) appear in the form of small dots with an even distribution. When viewed from the surface, the dots that appear tend to be rarely seen. While the mapping results show that small spots appear more, because TiO2 and SiO2 are trapped in the pores of cotton fabric fibers. The SEM–EDS analysis and mapping results show that TiO2/SiO2 has been successfully applied to fabrics with agglomerated round shapes, and the ratio between TiO2 and SiO2 is quite appropriate.

Table 3 Atomic composition of the samples from EDS result
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Fig. 2
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EDS mapping image of cotton fabrics modified by TiO2, SiO2, and composites TiO2/SiO2

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XRD analysis

XRD data is usually used to determine the atomic structure and crystal structure of materials. In this study, the XRD diffraction pattern of cotton fabric with and without modification is shown in Fig. 3. Figure 3 shows the diffraction pattern of the entire sample at 2 \(\theta\) = 15 \(^\circ\), 16.9 \(^\circ\), 22.9 \(^\circ\), and 34 \(^\circ\). These peaks correspond with the typical cellulose I \(\beta\) crystal structures (ICSD no. 00–056-1718), with planes (1–10), (110), (200) and (004) respectively (French 2014). Despite the modifications, the structure of the crystal has not changed, there have only been a few shifts in the planes (110) and (200). The crystallite size for all samples is 3.84 nm from calculation of 2 \(\theta\) and FWHM of (200) peak using the Debye–Scherrer equation. XRD measurements show that TiO2/SiO2 does not change the structure of the crystal of cellulose in fabrics.

Fig. 3
figure 3

XRD pattern of cotton fabrics modified by TiO2, SiO2, and composites TiO2/SiO2

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Functional group analysis

The interaction between TiO2/SiO2 soles and cotton fabric fibers results in changes in intermolecular bonds in the structure of cotton fabrics. These changes can be detected by characterization using FTIR spectroscopy as shown in Fig. 4a, The widened peak at wavenumber 33238 cm−1 which appears after the cotton fabric was modified is the vibration of the O–H stretching (Ahmad et al. 2019). In this region, samples containing SiO2 or having higher levels of SiO2 (CS, CT1S1 and CT1S2) display a peak intensity increase. The peaks that appear at wavenumbers 3028 and 2950 cm−1 are peaks that arise due to stretching vibrations of the Csp2–H and group Csp3–H. While the peak at wavenumber 1250 cm−1 is the peak of the stretching vibration of C–H bond (Rosales et al. 2019). A peak at 1160 cm−1 indicates the presence of a C–O–C group from the \(\beta\)(1–4) glycoside bond in the cellulose polymer that makes up cotton fabric fibers (Seeharaj et al. 2018). There are peaks of C − O stretching and C − H bending vibrations at wave numbers 1108 and 908 cm−1. Furthermore, there is a peak of C − OH bending vibrations in 660 cm−1. These peaks correspond to the functional groups of cellulose, the material that makes up cotton fabric fibers.

Fig. 4
figure 4

FTIR spectra of a cotton fabrics modified by TiO2, SiO2, and composites TiO2/SiO2 and b enlarged FTIR spectra of the samples from 1500–550 cm−1

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Si–O–Si groups are indicated by peaks appearing in the region of 1108 cm−1 and Si–O–C in 1053 cm−1. This peak pattern is similar with previous study by Paryab et al. (2021). From what can be seen in Fig. 4b samples with TiO2 or a higher proportion of TiO2 (CT, CT2S1) show increased intensity in this region. Meanwhile, in samples with SiO2 there is a slight decrease in intensity in this area. This indicates that the Ti–O–C bond has a peak at 908 cm−1, overlapping with the C–H bending vibrations. The Ti–O–C bond is obeserved 900–1000 in several studies (Wang et al. 2017; Zhu et al. 2020). While Ti–O stretching was observed around 665 cm−1 (Al-Amin et al. 2016). This band is also overlap with C − OH bending vibrations. Sample with a higher proportion of TiO2 (CT2S1) show similar FTIR spectrum to CT sample and vice versa. FTIR test results show that functional group peaks corresponding to TiO2/SiO2 are appeared, and TiO2/SiO2 are succesfully deposited on cotton fabrics. The findings of the FTIR analysis demonstrate the presence of functional group peaks corresponding to TiO2/SiO2, and the successful deposition of TiO2/SiO2 on cotton fabrics.

Contact angle analysis

The interaction between the fabric sample before and after modification with water was observed by measurement of the contact angle. The contact angle of each sample can be seen in Fig. 5. Cotton fabric has the highest contact angle of 62.4 \(^\circ\). Adding TiO2 to the cotton fabric can decrease the contact angle by up to 17.8 \(^\circ\) (CT samples) due to the Ti–OH sols deposited on the cotton fabric. This contact angle result is consistent with the previously stated FTIR data, which showed the presence of a peak of O–H stretching vibrations after adding TiO2 to the fabric. Meanwhile, after SiO2 addition, the fabric sample has the smallest contact angle, which is 0 \(^\circ\), causing the CS sample to enter the superhydrophilic surface range. The increased hydrophilic properties after SiO2 addition can be due to the abundance of O–H groups adsorbed on the surface. This result is aligns with earlier FTIR data that revealed a more obvious O–H stretching peak after adding SiO2 to the cotton fabric. This increased number of O–H groups can increase the hydrophilicity of cotton fabric samples.

Fig. 5
figure 5

Contact angle result of cotton fabrics modified by TiO2, SiO2, and composites TiO2/SiO2

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CT2S1 samples with more TiO2 have a contact angle like CT samples. Meanwhile, samples with a larger SiO2 composition have a contact angle like CS samples. Different amounts of SiO2 in TiO2/SiO2 composites can produce different surface properties, a sample with more SiO2 has a surface with superhydrophilic properties. This result is similar to the prior study by Pakdel & Daoud (2013), which found that increasing the amount of silica gives the coated fabric hydrophilic properties, resulting in the total dispersion of water droplets. Since the hydrophilicity of TiO2 is not high enough to allow for self-cleaning, it is challenging to remove pollutants from the photocatalyst surface (Cha et al. 2019). When there is SiO2 present with the hydrophilicity performance, there might be more interaction between TiO2 and water. This interaction may increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can lead to self-cleaning activity.

Self-cleaning activity test

Standard curve

The self-cleaning ability of MB stains owned by TiO2 and SiO2-modified fabrics is determined by the digital image colorimetry (DIC) technique. A standard curve is required to determine the concentration of MB during the degradation process of RGB values recorded in each time range. The standard curve is a plot of concentration on the recorded signal (in this study, it is the RGB value). However, the recorded signal is never perfectly proportional to the sample concentration, so a standard curve is used to correct this deficiency. The accuracy of the proposed method is assessed by repeating the same sample shooting analysis and RGB calculations. Three tests were also performed to evaluate the accuracy of MB degradation measurements. From the simple linear regression calculated with Excel 2021 (Microsoft Inc.), the effect of each R, G and B color on the concentration of MB in cotton fabric has been known. This method treats RGB data as univariate data. The average RGB color values and the logarithmic conversion (color intensity) of RGB to various concentrations of methylene blue plotted on the standard curve are shown in Table 4.

Table 4 Color values and color intensity of cotton fabrics soaked in various concentrations of MB solution
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Standard curves and image series of fabrics soaked in various concentrations can be seen in Fig. 6. The slope of the calibration curve is 8 × 10–3, 2.2 × 10–3, and 1.7 × 10–3 for R, G, and B, respectively. The intensity of the color with the highest slope is red because the most noticeable change as the concentration increases are the decrease in red as one of the color constituents compared to the other two colors. The limit of detection of each red, green, and blue are 2.6987, 0.4842, and 0.5575 ppm, respectively.

Fig. 6
figure 6

RGB standard curve of cotton fabric dipped in a series concentration of metylene blue solutions

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Partial least squares (PLS) regression was calculated using Minitab 19 software (Minitab Inc.). PLS regression is a better calculation approach because it creates a new linear regression by considering RGB data as a multivariate set. Previous research mentioned that calculations with this model are more sophisticated calculation methods that have some relationship with regression of major components (Firdaus et al. 2014). This calculation results in a good correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9891. This calculation yields Eq. (3):

$${\text{Concentration}}=-0.820+3.6{\text{R}}+483{\text{G}}-70{\text{B}}$$
(3)

Methylene blue degradation

Methylene blue (MB) is widely employed in various applications, including determining self-cleaning activity, owing to its ability to work as a visible, quantitative signal. The gradual removal of the MB colors indicates that a substance with a self-cleaning ability breaks down impurities or contaminants when exposed to light. The color of MB is recorded and quantified with smartphone-based digital image colorimetry, resulting in the graph shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7
figure 7

Methylene blue degradation of each sample over time

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All samples, including the raw cotton fabric show decreased MB concentration. The raw cotton fabric shows the least self-cleaning activity, with a degradation efficiency of only 47.86%, because no material can interact more with the methylene blue except the cotton fabric itself. It is followed by the cotton fabric coated with only one component of SiO2 (72.88%) and TiO2 (77.14%). More degradation efficiency is obtained when TiO2 and SiO2 are combined, as shown in CT2S1, CT1S1, and CT1S2 samples. This finding is because there is a synergistic effect of TiO2 and SiO2 to work together as self-cleaning material. Cotton fabrics coated with composite with more TiO2 (CT2S1) and more SiO2 (CT1S2) showed a degradation efficiency of 81.79% and 78,03%, respectively. The degradation efficiency values of these samples are not optimal because the proportion of each component cannot initiate a maximum self-cleaning effect. Meanwhile, cotton fabric with a composite of TiO2/SiO2 (1:1) with code CT1S1 showed the highest degradation efficiency, reaching 95.25%.

During irradiation, TiO2 can produce electron–hole pairs, which then react with oxygen (O2) and water (H2O), producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as anions superoxide (O2•−) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) (Guo et al. 2019). ROS is unstable and can react and break the structure from contaminants, so contaminants can be degraded. Uniquely, holes produced during the hydrophilic photocatalysis process can be captured by − OH groups adsorbed on the surface to increase electron–hole separation (Ollis et al. 1991). The photocatalytic activity can increase because more − OH groups can be adsorbed on the surface due to of hydrophilicity (Guan 2005). This phenomenon is known as the synergetic effect of photocatalysis and hydrophilicity. The color change of methylene blue during irradiation of each sample is shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 8
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Cotton fabric image during methylene blue degradation by light irradiation over time

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Particles adhesion stability test result

This test is carried out on the fabric to determine the stability of SiO2 and TiO2 attachment on cotton fabric. This test is performed because the modified cotton fabric has a high hydrophilicity. This property might let the particles be carried away by water when they come into contact with it. So, this investigation is done to determine how stable particle adhesion to the fabric was when soaked in a large volume of water. This test is a preliminary study, and we plan to develop it in the future. This particle adhesion stability was observed by determining the degradation efficiency of methylene blue before and after water immersion, shown by Fig. 9. These results demonstrate that the modified cotton fabric has particle adhesion stability. However, there is a slight reduction in self-cleaning activity after five water immersion cycles. It is important to note that the self-cleaning performance decreases get larger gradually.

Fig. 9
figure 9

Degradation activity of CT1S1 sample before and after 5 cycles of washing

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The use of sol forms of TiO2 and SiO2 during the coating process can increase the adhesion of these composites to the cotton fabric fibers. SiO2 can also increase particle adhesion stability, enhancing its resistance to various stresses and conditions, including light, moisture, and mechanical stress (Zambrano-Mera et al. 2022). This particle adhesion stability guarantees that the self-cleaning process lasts for an extended period.

Conclusions

The results of the characterization revealed that TiO2/SiO2 composites were successfully incorporated into cotton textiles. Surface analysis showing that after modifications there are small particles on cotton fabrics corresponds to TiO2/SiO2 composite. The XRD data shows that the crystallite size for all synthesized TiO2/SiO2 is 3.84 nm. The FTIR investigations also demonstrate the existence of Ti \(-\) O \(-\) C and Si \(-\) O \(-\) C bonds, indicating that TiO2 and SiO2 particles’ have chemical bonding with cotton fabric fibers. The O–H stretching band appears after adding TiO2 sol and is more pronounced in samples containing SiO2, this finding is consistent with contact angle results. Cotton fabric containing more TiO2 (CT, CT2S1) has a contact angle decrease of 17.8°. Cotton fabric containing SiO2 (CS, CT1S1, CT1S2) has a superhydrophilic surface of 0°. Different levels of SiO2 in TiO2/SiO2 composites could result a variety of surface hydrophilicity properties. The optimal ratio between TiO2 as a photocatalyst and SiO2 as a supporting material in cotton fabrics is TiO2:SiO2 1:1 which shows the highest self-cleaning activity reaching 95.25% degradation to methylene blue through DIC (digital image colorimetry) determination. Cotton fabrics coated with TiO2/SiO2 (1:1) composite showed good stability of the particle adhesion to the cotton fabric after five water immersion cycles.