Microencapsulation and its application in production of functional textiles

Currently, the textile sector is moving towards the development of value-added functional textile products based on customer demand. Therefore, several new finishing techniques have been evolved so far to functionalize the textile substrates. In this context, the microencapsulation technique is one of the advanced technologies which has been used to impart functional properties such as antibacterial activity, aroma, mosquito repellency, UV protection, and thermoregulation to textiles. In microencapsulation, the volatile and non-volatile components can be encapsulated within a thin polymeric layer which causes a slow release of the compound, resulting in long-lasting functional effect. Various active materials, like essential oils, enzymes, drugs, pesticides and vitamins, have been successfully entrapped inside microcapsules made from a variety of polymeric materials. There are interesting reports available in the literature dealing with functionalization of textiles using microencapsulated materials. This review paper covers the fundamentals of microencapsulation, its major techniques, materials involved in microencapsulation and the important research reported in this area. The major essential oils used in microencapsulation and the subsequent functional effects are also reviewed. The present and futuristic research trends in this important area of chemical processing of textiles are presented.