Population growth and the development of various industries have exacerbated the challenges of energy scarcity and environmental issues. In this regard, the use of renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy as a clean, cost-effective and available source of energy, can be an appropriate solution. In the present research work, silver photothermal nanoparticles have been used with the aim of increasing the surface temperature of cotton fabrics. In this regard, the impact of various parameters including the concentration of silver nitrate (AgNO3), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and triethanolamine (TEA) and the solution temperature on the synthesis process of silver nanoparticles was eva‎luated. The results revealed that increasing the silver nitrate concentration significantly influences the synthesis of silver nanoparticles on the fabric. Additionally, the incorporation of SDS in the synthesis solution led to the uniform distribution of silver nanoparticles on the fabric surface. Increasing the concentration of silver nanoparticles on the surface of cotton fabrics yielded to enhanced photothermal activity of fabric. Note that excessive accumulation of silver nanoparticles on the fabric surface resulted in inferior photothermal performance compared to the sample containing silver nanoparticles with less concentration but more uniform distribution. This observation is primarily attributed to the reduction in the specific surface area of the nanoparticles. Consequently, it can be inferred that achieving an optimal temperature in the photothermal fabric containing silver nanoparticles is determined by the optimum concentration of silver nanoparticles on the fabric surface. This optimum concentration was obtained using the solution containing AgNO3: SDS with the ratio of 2:1 at temperature of 70℃. The optimum sample exhibited a temperature increase from 24.1°C to 35.7 °C after 1 min exposure to simulated sunlight. This sample attained a maximum temperature of 81.2°C after 30 min exposure. Following the eva‎luation of the washing fastness and abrasion resistance of the produced photothermal fabrics, the photothermal performance of the samples was re-eva‎luated. The temperature of the samples reached to 69.3°C and 63.1°C, respectively, after 30 min exposure. Additionally, the antibacterial property of the produced photothermal fabric was also demonstrated.

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كميل نصوري , مصطفي يوسفي