Vigilancia Tecnológica

Cellulosic fabric finishing via silver nanoparticles to develop antimicrobial properties and to upsurge its esthetic worth is flourishing in the textile industry. To contribute this research effort, the current project was conducted for the application of starch-embedded stable silver nanoparticles on cotton fabric before and after dyeing using a newly synthesized heterofunctional reactive dye. SEM imaging was used to check the morphological changes in cellulose polymeric structure after silver nanoparticles loading. Interaction between silver nanoparticle finishing and dyeing properties (colorimetric, fastness, and UV protection) of samples was explored and delineated. Silver-loaded cotton samples retained antimicrobial activities even after five laundry actions and pre- and post-dyeing treatment had no significant effect on the antimicrobial activity. Superb color buildup of samples revealed that silver nanoparticles should be applied before dyeing because pre-application of nanoparticles would increase the active surface area of cotton fabric which increased color strength and esthetic quality of fabric. Fastness properties and UPF of dyed cellulosic fabric were improved due to silver nanoparticles finishing. Future perspectives of the current study comprised the application and assessment of dyeing properties of new heterofunctional azo reactive dye on polyester cotton (PC) fabric.