Enhancing Easy Care and Antibacterial Functions of Cellulose/Wool Blends

Abstract

The present work studies the possibility of enhancing easy care properties as well as imparting antibacterial properties to cotton/wool and viscose/wool blends through crosslinking in presence of certain additives (i.e., carboxylic acids, N-containing additives, polyols) as well as softening agents, followed by subsequent treatment with ZnCl(2) solution. The improvement in carboxyl content and/or nitrogen content as well as the degree of crosslinking is governed by the type of the included additive (e.g., chemical composition, functionality, reactivity, mode of interaction, location and extent of distribution) along with the nature of substrate (e. g., chemical nature, active sites, crystalline/amorphous ratio, affinity for the used reactants, extent of modification). The degree of antibacterial activity is confirmed against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. After 15 laundering cycles, the fabric samples containing Zn exhibit prominent antibacterial functionality irrespective of the used additives.