Development of trilayered multifunctional superhydrophobic cotton fabric using biogenic materials
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop multifunctional, namely, superhydrophobic, flame-retardant and antibacterial, coatings over cotton fabric, using casein as green-based flame-retardant and silver nanoparticles as antibacterial agent by solution immersion method.
Design/methodology/approach
The cotton fabric is first coated with casein to make it flame-retardant. AgNPs synthesized using Cinnamomum zeylanicum bark extract is coated over the casein layer. Finally, stearic acid is used to coat the cotton to make it superhydrophobic. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy analysis and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy are used to investigate the produced AgNPs. The as-prepared multifunctional cotton is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and attenuated total reflection-infrared studies. Flame test, limiting oxygen index test and thermogravimetric analyzer studies have also been performed to study the flame-retardant ability and thermal stability of treated fabric, respectively. The antibacterial effect of the coatings is evaluated by disc-diffusion technique. Water contact angle is determined to confirm the superhydrophobic nature of cotton fabric.
Findings
The outcomes of this study showed that the prepared multifunctional cotton fabric had maximum contact angle of greater than 150° with good flame retardancy, high thermal stability, greater washing durability and high antibacterial activity against the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter indicus. Additionally, the as-prepared superhydrophobic cotton showed an excellent oil–water separation efficiency.
Research limitations/implications
The trilayered multifunctional cotton fabric has limiting washing durability up to 20 washing cycles. Treated functional fabric can be used as an antibacterial, therapeutic, water repellent and experimental protective clothing for medical, health care, home curtains and industrial and laboratory purposes.
Originality/value
The study brings out the robustness of this method in the development of multifunctional cotton fabrics.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the University Grants Commission – Basic Scientific Research (UGC-BSR) Mid-Career Award (F.19–276/2021) for the financial aids.
Declaration of competing interest: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Citation
Gayathri, A., Varalakshmi, P. and Sethuraman, M.G. (2022), "Development of trilayered multifunctional superhydrophobic cotton fabric using biogenic materials", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-05-2022-0055
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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