Sol-gel treatments on cotton fabrics for improving thermal and flame stability: Effect of the structure of the alkoxysilane precursor

► Cotton fabrics were sol-gel treated with several alkoxy precursors, having a different number and type of hydrolysable groups. ► Aim of the work was to investigate the thermal stability, flammability and combustion behaviour of fabrics. ► The effectiveness in improving cotton fire resistance was found to depend on the type of the used alkoxysilane. ► All the investigated precursors favoured the char formation in air below 360 °C.