Antimicrobial and pilling evaluation of the modified cellulosic fabrics using polyurethane acrylate copolymers

Polyurethane acrylate copolymers (PACs) were synthesized by three step synthesis process via emulsion polymerization using toluene-2,4-diisocyanate, hydroxy terminated poly (caprolactone) diol (PCL), 2-hydroxyethylacrylate (HEA) and butyl acrylate (BuA). The proposed structure of the synthesized polyurethane acrylate copolymer (PAC) was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer. The pilling characteristic and antimicrobial activities of the plain weave poly-cotton grey, white, printed and dyed fabric swatches after application of PAC were evaluated. The results revealed that by increasing the molecular weight of PCL in the synthesized PAC samples, the antimicrobial activities increased and this behavior was interpreted in term of increasing hydrophilic character. An increase in pilling ratings of the treated samples has been observed by increasing the molecular weight of the polycaprolactone diols in the synthesized PAC samples.