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

This study beleaguered to explore the addition of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and/or zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) as unique ecological additives for the fabrication of viscose fabric having several multifunctional characteristics. Surface coating by way of esterification 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. Their binding to viscose fabrics was confirmed using FTIR, SEM, and add-on %. The obtained results revealed that (a) notable comparable DWRA was achieved in presence of β-CD without significantly affecting the TS of the coated fabrics; (b) a notable improvement in antibacterial activity and ultraviolet protection factors was achieved; (c) there was 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 β-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 examining the incorporation of β-CD and ZnO-NPs onto viscose using this type of coating technique.