An innovative method to functionalize textiles for the remediation of polluted media

A new, efficient and fast process was developed to coat poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabrics with acrylic acid (AA) and this novel eco-friendly material was designed to be used as a filtration medium for complexing heavy metals from aqueous media. PET is impregnated with acrylic acid, and directly polymerized using a KrF excimer laser. The conditions of irradiation were optimized using the experimental design technique: a 40 mm × 3.5 mm surface was irradiated per pulse, and 24 mJ/cm2 and 700 pulses were necessary to obtain a good coating without degrading the textile structure. For industrial purpose, these conditions were extended to treat larger surfaces (40 mm × 11.5 mm pulse) using a fluence of 24 mJ/cm2 and 700 pulses. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) were carried out to characterize the functionalized surfaces. A thick coating, resistant to low-temperature-washing was obtained. Finally, the efficiency of this coated textile was evaluated with copper sulfate solutions: 0.131 mg copper was trapped per cm2 of PET, which is a promising result.