Eco-friendly surface modification on polyester fabrics by esterase treatment

- We used a simple and easy way to measure the enzyme activity.
- We studied the mechanism by characterizing the chemical changes in the surface of fabric.
- We studied the advantages in surface wettability, fiber integrity and mechanical performance of cutinase treated fabrics.
- Cutinase pretreated fibers exhibited much improved fabric wicking and better fiber integrity comparing to alkali treated ones.
- Cutinase pretreatment technology promotes energy conservation and emission reduction.

Currently, traditional alkali deweighting technology is widely used to improve the hydrophilicity of polyester fabrics. However, the wastewater and heavy chemicals in the effluent cause enormous damage to the environment. Esterase treatment, which is feasible in mild conditions with high selectivity, can provide a clean and efficient way for polyester modification. Under the optimum conditions, the polyester fabric hydrolysis process of esterase had a linear kinetics. X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) results showed that hydroxyl and carboxyl groups were produced only on the surface of modified fiber without changing the chemical composition of the bulk. These fibers exhibited much improved fabric wicking, as well as greatly improved oily stain removal performance. Compared to the harsh alkali hydrolysis, the enzyme treatment led to smaller weight loss and better fiber integrity. The esterase treatment technology is promising to produce higher-quality polyester textiles with an environmental friendly approach.