Bioinspired Polyacrylate Coating with Moth-Eye Nanostructures for Enhanced Color Depth of Polyester Fabric

Polyester fiber possesses a high refractive index, making it difficult to achieve a deep color. To overcome this challenge, this study develops a bioinspired antireflective coating based on moth-eye structures. A stable emulsion was initially prepared using methyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as monomers and then applied to polyester fabrics via a dip-pad-cure process. The treated polyester exhibits a significantly enhanced color depth. The K/S value increases from 24.50 to 43.77, and the CIE L* value decreases from 15.61 to 10.55. Meanwhile, the comfort of the fabric remains well preserved. The air permeability of the fabric shows a negligible change from 2667 to 2511 mm/s. The softness score slightly changes from 87.08 to 86.35. Furthermore, the coating exhibits outstanding abrasion resistance. The K/S value of the treated fabric retains over 40% improvement after 400 abrasion cycles. These findings provide a promising, sustainable strategy for improving the visual depth of color in polyester textiles.