Durable biobased hybrid compounds: Potential modifying agents for the development of functional cotton fabrics

The advancement of antibacterial, stain-resistant, and easy-to-clean multifunctional cotton fabrics finds its scientific appeal and practical value due to their multidisciplinary uses in pharmacy, sanitation, clinics, etc. In this investigation, the cotton fabric was immersed in chitosan- vinyltriethoxy silane (Ch-VTES) and N-(2-hydroxy)propyl-3-trimethylammonium chitosan chloride- vinyltriethoxy silane (HTACC-VTES), prepared via the cost-effective sol–gel process to produce self-cleaning and antimicrobial cotton fabrics for end-uses. The Ch-VTES and HTACC-VTES modified cotton fabrics showed encouraging water contact angles of 102° and 139° respectively i.e. closer to superhydrophobicity as well as strong self-cleaning behavior without compromising the physicochemical properties of unmodified cotton fabric. Notably, the modified fabric demonstrated enchanting bacterial killing efficiency with a noticeable zone of inhibition against E. coli (17 mm for Ch-VTES and 21 mm for HTACC-VTES modified fabrics) and S. aureus (20 mm for Ch-VTES and 25 mm for HTACC-VTES modified fabrics) bacteria. Both modified cotton textiles showed an absorption peak at 1208 cm−1 (Si-O-C bending) in FTIR, suggesting that silane binds to the cotton substrate more firmly. The stability and longevity of the modified cotton fabrics with desired properties remain unchanged till 15 cycles of washing for the antibacterial test and the 20 cycles for the water contact angle. The fabricated textiles would be used for a wide range of uses, including medical applications as well as personal care products