Green Options for Simultaneous Transfer Printing and Multifunctional Finishing of Cellulose-Containing Fabrics

The present article explores the potential application of different eco-friendly organic acids, namely ascorbic, tannic, salicylic, and gallic individually, along with CA/SHP, as ester cross-linker, C.I. Disperse Red 60, or C.I. Disperse Blue 56 in the absence and presence of vanillin, PEG-600, or Lesoft ®VOG as a functional additive to obtain high-value-added multifunctional protective and colored cellulose-containing fabrics in a single step. Type of cellulose-containing fabric, i.e., cotton, linen, or cotton/polyester (65/35), chemical nature of environmentally benign organic acids, functional additives, as well as the chemical structure of the used disperse dyes have a significant impact on the extent of disperse dye fixation and multifunctionalization of the developed textile products. The obtained results showed that incorporation of silicone softener as a functional additive along with ascorbic acid, as an organic acid, and the disperse dye into the transfer printing/finishing formulation brought about a remarkable improvement in the extent of coloration and multifunctionalization, keeping other parameters constant. The K/S reached (2.70 & 4.09) while UPF value reached (89, 108) for cotton, cotton/polyester blended fabric samples respectively. Additionally, the treated fabric samples exhibited high antibacterial against G -ve (84.5, 97.45), and G+ ve (89.0, 99.8) for cotton, cotton/polyester blend fabrics respectively treated with Ascorbic acid and Lesoft VOG® and printed with C.I Disperse blue 56, Tentative mechanisms were suggested, and the change in surface morphology and composition of the selected samples were analyzed using SEM & EDX analysis. The present R&D work can lead to the development of concurrent transfer printing/multifunctional finishing of cellulose-containing fabrics and provide a viable and promising prospect to produce the same developed textile products on an industrial scale.