Nanoparticles based coatings for multifunctional Polyamide 66 textiles with improved flame retardancy and hydrophilicity

Novel nanoparticles (NPs) namely, TiO2 and SiO2 along with naturally derived phytic acid (PA) and chitosan (CS) were used to improve the flame retardant and hydrophilic properties of polyamide 66 (PA66) fabrics via pad-dry-cure technique. The application of PA-TiO2 enhanced the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value up to 24.5 % for the treated fabrics from 19.5% of the pure fabric and accelerated char yield%. Conversely, the introduction of chitosan (CS) into the PA-TiO2/SiO2 formulations brought a significant reduction in the peak heat release rate (pHRR) where a maximum reduction of 25 % was achieved for the PA66-PA-CS-T fabric sample. Meanwhile, the hydrophilicity of treated fabrics was improved significantly, especially with PA-SiO2 formulation as the water contact angle was reduced to 29 degrees for the treated fabrics from 112 degrees for the pure PA66. In addition, the formulations containing nanoparticles (TiO2/SiO2) along with PA boosted up the tensile strength of treated textiles. (C) 2020 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.