Aldehyde-free and bio-based durable coatings for cellulose fabrics with high flame retardancy, antibacteria and well wearing performance
Researchers found that by using aldehyde-free and bio-based coatings on cellulose fabrics, a significant improvement in flame retardant properties, antibacterial effect and wear performance can be achieved.
The bio-based coatings of cellulose fabrics (cotton) had attracted increasing attention for multifunction and sustainability but suffered from poor durability and low efficiency. Here, the aldehyde-free and durable coatings for cotton fabrics (CPZ@CF) with satisfactory flame retardancy, antibacteria as well as wearing performance were prepared through the interfacial coordination effect where the well-organized zinc phytate complex were in situ grew on the pre-treated surface of cotton fabrics with chitosan (CS) and Zn2+. The CZP@CF exhibited excellent antibacterial activity for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) with 99.99 % antibacterial rates benefiting from the synergistic effect between Zn2+ and CS.
Meanwhile, even the CPZ coatings loading was only 1.5 wt%, the fire safety of CZP@CF remarkably enhanced owing to the excellent synergistic catalytic charring and free radical capture. More importantly, the antibacterial rates of CZP@CF for S. aureus and E. coli still reached 99.99 % and 91.67 % after 50 washing cycles. Additionally, this treatment method did not deteriorate the fabrics properties, including mechanical and breathability as well as wearing performance, which provided the approach to fabricate the flame retardant and antibacterial textiles with well durability and wearing performance.
The research has therefore shown that coatings made from zinc phytate complexes based on chitosan and Zn2+ (CPZ@CF) have outstanding antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) and can also significantly improve the flame retardancy of the treated tissues
This study has been published in International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 258, Part 1, February 2024.
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