A new approach for dyeing and functional finishing for cotton fabric using Henna extract and TiO2 nano-sol was investigated. In this study, 3-chloro-2-hydroxy propyl trimethylammonium chloride was used to substitute metallic mordants (heavy-metal salts) in pre-treating cotton fabric. This eventually will prevent heavy metal pollution as well as obtain dyeing without addition of salt. TiO2 nano-sol was prepared by sol-gel method using different amounts of tetraisopropyl orthotitanate (TTIP) and applied on cationized cotton fabrics using the same finishing formulation and treatment sequence. Treated fabrics were then dyed with Henna extract at different dyeing temperatures (60 ℃, 80 ℃, and 90 ℃). TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The chemical and morphological structures of the dyed fabrics were characterized by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Color strength, fastness properties (washing, rubbing, and light), UV-blocking, antibacterial activity, and tensile strength were investigated. Samples treated with TiO2 and dyed with Henna extract exhibited outstanding enhancement in both the UV protection and antibacterial efficacy with minimal impact on color depth and tensile strength. Enhancement or decrement in the UV protection, antibacterial activity and dyeing properties are governed by the amount of TTIP and the dyeing temperature.

Vegetable oil-based fluorocarbon water repellent agents were prepared by chemical modifications of different vegetable oils – soybean and linseed oils through several reactions, including saponification, acidification, acylation of vegetable oil and trans-esterification with 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol and 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropanol. The resulted fluorocarbon agents were then copolymerized with styrene. The structures of the vegetable oil based agents were characterized by FT-IR and NMR. By evaluating water contact angle and time of water disappearance on cotton fabrics, as well as whiteness and breaking strength of cotton fabrics that were treated by these agents, optimum fabric finishing conditions were explored. The cotton fabrics finished with the vegetable oil-based fluorocarbon agents showed excellent water repellency, while other properties of the cotton fabrics declined to certain level. The linseed oil-based tetrafluoropropanol water repellent agent displayed the highest water repellency among all modified oils. All the treated fabrics exhibited good durability of water repellency. The linseed oil-based tetrafluoropropanol water repellent agent demonstrated the best durability among all repellent agents.Highlights► Four vegetable oil-based fluorocarbon agents were synthesized. ► Fluorocarbon agents were copolymerized with styrene and got polymer agents. ► We characterized the structures of the vegetable oil based agents by FT-IR and NMR. ► Fabrics finished with vegetable oil-based agents showed excellent water repellency.

Fluorine containing water-repellent agents—fatty acid trifluoroethyl esters were prepared by modification of different vegetable oils—castor oil, palm oil, and soybean oil via a reaction of hydrolysate of vegetable oil with 2,2,2-trifluoro ethanol. The structures of the modified vegetable oils were characterized by FT-IR. With contact angle, time for water to disappear, whiteness, and breaking strength as indicators, the optimum finishing processes of cotton fabrics with each modified vegetable oil were studied. The results showed that the cotton fabrics treated with the modified vegetable oils demonstrated excellent water repellency, while the whiteness and breaking strength of the fabrics reduced a little. The fabrics treated with modified palm oil exhibited the highest water repellency among all treated fabrics. All the treated fabrics showed good durability of water repellency after 5 cycles of washing, the contact angle remained about 90° or even higher, among which the durability of fabric treated with modified soybean oil was the best.