A lipid coating on cotton fibers with enhanced adsorption capability for fabric functionalization

Cotton is often modified to minimize its disadvantages during textile processing. However, most finishing methods suffer from difficulties in finding finishing reagents and chemical aids. Here, we report a novel strategy based on a combination of the pad-dry-cure method and the construction of surface coating to expand the scope of the finishing reagent and simplify the finishing process. Polyacrylic acid (PAA) oligomer was first grafted onto cotton fiber surfaces via esterification between the carboxyl groups of PAA and the hydroxyl groups of the cellulose molecules on the cotton fiber surface. Hexadecanol was then reacted with the residual carboxyl groups of the PAA to build a lipid layer on the cotton fiber surfaces. The enhanced adsorption capability for hydrophobic molecules was verified via three reagents: stearyl trimethyl ammoium bromide (STAB), 9,10-dihydro-9-oxaco-10-phospho-10-oxide (DOPO), and 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid hexadecyl ester (Cyasorb 2908), which they offered bacterial-, flame-, and UV-resistance to the cotton fabrics, respectively. This strategy can lead to finishing technologies suitable for scale-up in the textile industry.

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