Radiation-protective cum multifunctional cotton fabric prepared by coating of lead oxide-functionalized polyurethane

Polyurethane (PU) is a vital polymer for textile coating and lamination due to its alteration capability and applicability on various textile fibers. This work reports the preparation of flexible coated cotton with antibacterial, UV-protective, X-ray-protective, and γ-ray protective properties. The multifunctional radiation-protective cotton fabric was prepared using lead oxide-functionalized functional PU (FPU) coating. The coated fabric was characterized using various techniques to establish the structure-property relationship. A single layer of coated cotton fabric showed excellent functional properties, viz., up to 3.5 % attenuation of incident γ-photons and up to 60 % attenuation of incident x-rays, durable antibacterial properties up to 99.9 % against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria, 100 + cm of breaking hydrostatic pressure rating, and 50 + UPF rating. The prepared samples also displayed appreciable weathering resistance causing reduction in tensile strength loss due to weathering upto 11.1 % as opposed to that of control untreated cotton which showed 44.2 % loss in tensile strength post weathering. Therefore, the coated cotton that has been developed can be claimed as an efficient radiation-attenuating protective textile with probable applications in the medical and defence sectors.