Plasma-assisted deposition of microcapsule containing Aloe vera extract for cosmeto-textiles

There is a growing interest in the application of cosmeto-textiles to incorporate durable fragrances and skin softeners to textile.[1] Microencapsulation technology is a growing area in textile industry.[2, 3] The main disadvantage of using film-forming binders in the application of MCs onto textiles is hindrance of the active substances to be release. To overcome this issue MCs can be covalently linked onto textile substrate by using chemical or physical methods.[4] In recent years plasma technology has assumed a great importance.[5] It is a dry, environmentally- and worker-friendly method to achieve surface alteration without modifies the bulk properties of different materials.[6] It improves the fibre-matrix adhesion by introducing chemically active groups and changing the surface roughness.[7] The dielectric double barrier discharge (DBD) is one of the most effective non-thermal atmospheric plasma to improve the adsorption and adhesion of MCs in textiles [8-10]. The main objective of this study is to investigate the adhesion of MCs containing Aloe vera extract applied by padding and printing methods in a cotton/polyester (50/50) fabric (Co/PES) pre-treated with a DBD plasma discharge in air. Fabrics were analysed by contact angle, SEM and FTIR analysis. The printing and padding methods was compared in term of MCs coating efficiency, plasma dose and washing fastness.This work is supported by CSF - CAPES - Brazil (Bex 18.645-12-7) and FEDER funding on the COMPETE program and by national funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and UID/CTM/00264.