Bio-Innovative Modification of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) Fabric Using Enzymes and Chitosan.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Textile Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabrics often require surface modification to improve properties like hydrophilicity and introduce new functionalities.
• Hydrolysis and biopolymer grafting are key strategies for textile functionalization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the activation of PET fabric surfaces via alkaline and enzymatic hydrolysis.
• To functionalize hydrolyzed PET fabrics with chitosan and assess the durability and properties of the modified textiles.
• To evaluate the antibacterial activity and environmental impact of the developed processes.

Main Methods:

• PET fabric hydrolysis using alkaline conditions (surfactant-accelerated) and enzymatic methods (Amano Lipase A).
• Chitosan functionalization via pad-dry-cure process.
• Durability testing after industrial washing cycles (ISO 15797:2017 modified) with eco-friendly bleaching agents.
• Analysis using weight loss, tensile testing, wicking, FTIR-ATR, zeta potential, and SEM.

Main Results:

• Both hydrolysis methods improved hydrophilicity; enzymatic hydrolysis was more environmentally favorable.
• Alkaline hydrolysis reduced tensile properties by 20%, while enzymatic hydrolysis caused only a 2% reduction.
• Chitosan functionalization demonstrated good durability after 10 washing cycles, with better performance on the enzymatically treated surface.
• The modified PET fabrics exhibited retained antibacterial activity after repeated washing.

Conclusions:

• Enzymatic hydrolysis offers a more sustainable and less damaging route for PET surface activation compared to alkaline hydrolysis.
• Chitosan functionalization provides durable antibacterial properties to PET fabrics, suitable for textile applications.
• The described methods are industrially applicable for creating bio-innovative modified PET textiles.