Adsorption–desorption kinetics of silica coated on textile fabrics by the sol–gel process

The present paper discusses the adsorption and desorption kinetics of silica coated on cotton (CO) and polyester (PES) textile fabrics. Surfaces of CO and PES textile were coated by the sol–gel process using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and chloropropyltriethoxysilane (CPTS) as silica precursors. The silica concentration was determined according to NF T90-007 standard. The kinetic adsorption data for CO samples can be described by the pseudo-first order and by the pseudo-second order for those of PES. The highest adsorption and desorption rate of silica was found for CO fabrics treated with CPTS and TEOS, respectively. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to statistically verify the result found from adsorption and desorption experimental manipulations. The results of silica adsorption and desorption were statistically analyzed according to ANOVA test with a significance level of 0.05. Scanning electron microscopy observations were taken to assess the effect of desorption in the morphology of the coated fabrics. The mechanical properties of textile fabrics were investigated by the uniaxial traction test according to NF EN ISO 13934-1:2013 standard. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to investigate the thermal stability of fabrics in air. The results showed that both the mechanical and thermal properties of textile samples after silica desorption did not change radically. Also, their water repellency remained significant even after the desorption test.