Eco-friendly finishing agent for cotton fabrics to improve flame retardant and antibacterial properties

• Cotton fabrics were treated with eco-friendly finishing agent.
• Impart flame retardancy and antibacterial properties to cotton fabrics.
• Chitosan phosphate, butaneteracarboxylic acid and TiO2 nanoparticle were used.
• The results obtained indicated that cotton fabric gained flame retardancy and antibacterial properties.
• TiO2 plays important role in the finishing formulation.

This research work deals with flame retardant and antibacterial finishing agent for cellulosic fabrics using TiO2 nanoparticles and chitosan phosphate. TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by sol–gel method using titanium tetraisopropoxide. The size of TiO2 nanoparticles was characterized using transmission electron microscope (TEM). The application of nano TiO2 onto cellulosic fabrics (cotton 100%) was achieved in presence of polycarboxylic acid [1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid (BTCA)] with sodium hypophosphite (SHP) as catalyst and chitosan phosphate through conventional pad-dry-cure method. The effect of the finishing on the physical properties, flammability and antibacterial properties of cross-linked fabrics are investigated. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was employed to investigate the thermal decomposition behaviour of the treated samples. Limited oxygen indexes (LOI) of the treated cotton fabrics were investigated. The treated cotton fabric also reveals excellent antibacterial properties.