Spectral and Thermal Properties of Biofield Energy Treated Cotton

Cotton has widespread applications in textile industries due its interesting physicochemical properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of biofield energy treatment on the spectral, and thermal properties of the cotton. The study was executed in two groups namely control and treated. The control group persisted as untreated, and the treated group received Mr. Trivedi’s biofield energy treatment. The control and treated cotton were characterized by different analytical techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and CHNSO analysis. DSC analysis showed a substantial increase in exothermic temperature peak of the treated cotton (450 ºC) as compared to the control sample (382ºC). Additionally, the enthalpy of fusion (?H) was significantly increased by 86.47% in treated cotton. The differential thermal analysis (DTA) analysis showed an increase in thermal decomposition temperature of treated cotton (361ºC) as compared to the control sample (358ºC). The result indicated the increase in thermal stability of the treated cotton in comparison with the control. FT-IR analysis showed an alterations in –OH stretching (3408?3430 cm-1), carbonyl stretching peak (1713-1662 cm-1), C-H bending (1460-1431 cm-1), -OH bending (580-529 cm-1) and –OH out of plane bending (580-529 cm-1) of treated cotton with respect to the control sample. CHNSO elemental analysis showed a substantial increase in the nitrogen percentage by 19.16% and 2.27% increase in oxygen in treated cotton as compared to the control. Overall, the result showed significant changes in spectral and thermal properties of biofield energy treated cotton. It is assumed that biofield energy treated cotton might be interesting for textile applications.

In summary, the DSC result showed the significant increase in an exothermic peak in treated cotton (450ºC) as compared to the control (382ºC). DTA analysis showed an increase in thermal decomposition temperature of treated cotton (361ºC) with respect to the control (358ºC). This indicated the increase in thermal stability of the biofield treated cotton. FT-IR spectroscopic analysis showed an alterations in the frequency of the treated cotton. It is presumed that biofield treatment caused changes in force constant of the treated cotton in comparison with control. Additionally, CHNSO analysis showed the considerable increase in the elemental composition of nitrogen (19.16%) and oxygen (2.27%) in treated cotton. Therefore, the high thermal stability of biofield energy treated cotton might improve its application for preparation of textile fabric.