Multifunctional Anionic Cotton Dyeings

Anionic cotton dyeings with anti-ultraviolet and antibacterial functions were prepared by the post-treatment of direct and reactive cotton dyeings with a zirconium oxychloride salt solution. The extent of improvement in the functional properties was governed by the structure and pretreatment history of the knitted cotton fabric, the kind and concentration of the anionic dye, and the dyeing regime. The chelation and fixation of the positively charged zirconium ions onto and/or within the dyed substrate resulted in an enhancement in the ultraviolet absorption capacity of the treated substrate and interaction with the thiol groups of the cellular protein; this imparted antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria without adverse effects on the hue of the obtained dyeings. Both the anti-ultraviolet and bacterial functions of the post-treated dyeings survived through 1.5 washing cycles. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 3249-3255, 2010