A Biocompatible and Sustainable Anti-ultraviolet Functionalization of Cotton Fabric with Nanocellulose and Chitosan Nanocomposites

For improving the ultraviolet (UV) protection property of cotton fabric and exploiting ecological cotton textiles, cotton fabric was modified with a kind of biocompatible and nontoxic of chitosan (CS)/nanocellulose (NCs) nanocomposites using a pad-dry-cure process. The effect of particle size of NCs on the morphology and property of CS/NCs cotton fabrics were carefully investigated by SEM, FTIR, and mechanical property, water wettability, UV protection and laundering durability analysis. The results revealed that the CS/NCs coated fabrics performed excellent UV protection ability as well as a good laundering durability. The UPF values of all the CS/NCs coated fabrics were much higher than that of untreated fabric even after 30 cycles of laundering. Moreover, the particle size of NCs had a negative effect on the UV protection ability of CS/NCs coated fabric. Meanwhile, coated with CS/NCs nanocomposites was benefit to enhance the mechanical property, and hydrophobicity of cotton fabric.