Gallnut extract-treated wool and cotton for developing green functional textiles

• Gallnuts are natural colorants known to exert various pharmaceutical effects.
• Hence, wool and cotton fabrics were treated with the gallnut extract.
• Plasma treatment was used to improve the finishing effect.
• Surface appearance, mechanical properties, and functionalities of wool and cotton fabrics were investigated.
• Gallnut extract treatment was found to impose the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties on the wool and cotton fabrics.

Gallnuts are known to exert various pharmaceutical effects, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and detoxifying effects. In particular, the gallnut extract is thought to be a safe antimicrobial agent for textile application, since it is of natural origin. Hence, wool and cotton fabrics were treated with the gallnut extract, by using a pad-dry-cure process to develop multi-functional clothing material with no harmful effects. Additionally, fabrics were plasma-treated to improve the finishing effect. This study thoroughly investigated the surface appearance, mechanical properties, antimicrobial ability, and antioxidant performance of gallnut extract-treated wool and cotton fabrics. Gallnut extract treatment was found to impose the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties on the wool and cotton fabrics.