Preparation and properties of phenolic compound/BTCA treated cotton fabrics for functional textile applications

There is currently much interest in natural phenolic compounds as bioactive components of food. The roles of many fruits and vegetables in disease prevention have been attributed, in part, to the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of their constituent polyphenols. In this study, cotton fabrics were treated by phenolic compounds, pyrogallol, phloroglucinol, pyrocatechol, and resorcinol, to assess their antibacterial and antioxidant capabilities on clothing material. The treatment was conducted via a pad-dry-cure process and 1,2,3,4,-butanetetra carboxylic acid was used as a crosslinker in the finishing process to improve the treatment efficiency. After the finishing step, the phenolic compound treated cotton fabrics were investigated by FT-IR, color spectrophotometry, an antibacterial test, and an antioxidant test. Through the investigation, it was discovered pyrogallol is the most effective phenolic compound for cotton treatment, and the treated cotton fabric shows >99.9 % antibacterial ability and >90 % antioxidant ability.