Harnessing β-cyclodextrin and zinc oxide nanoparticles for fabricating functional textiles

This study targeted to explore the inclusion of beta-cyclodextrin and/or zinc oxide nanoparticles as novel sustainable additives for the fabrication of viscose fabric having several multi-functional characteristics. Surface coating via esterification reaction was used to add antibacterial and ultraviolet protection properties as biomedical applications and dry wrinkle recovery angle (DWRA) and tensile strength (TS) as tactile/sensorial comfort properties in addition to air and water vapor permeability as physical-comfort aspects to viscose. The binding of beta-CD and ZnO-NPs to viscose fabrics was confirmed using FTIR, SEM, and add-on%. The obtained results revealed that (a) notable comparable dry wrinkle recovery in presence of beta-CD without significantly affecting the tensile strength of the coated finished fabrics; (b) a notable improvement in antibacterial activity and ultraviolet protection factors were achieved; (c) a slight reduction in both air and water vapor permeability values but the results were still comparable; (d) the results remained durable after three washing cycles, demonstrating the potential of beta-CD and ZnO-NPs in the development of functional textiles; and (e) an integrated mechanism was also projected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study for incorporating beta-CD and ZnO-NPs onto viscose fabric using this type of coating technique.