Preparation of strawberry chitosan composite microcapsules and their application in textiles

Chitosan (CS) is often used as the shell material of microcapsules due to its natural non-toxic property. However, most of traditional CS microcapsules are single chamber microcapsules with single function. In this study, phase change CS microcapsules were firstly prepared by a single coagulation method, and then photochromic nanocapsules were grafted onto the CS microcapsules to obtain strawberry CS composite microcapsules. These microcapsules could be applied in the fabric, which endows it with good photochromic and antibacterial performances based on photochromic nanocapsules and CS shell of microcapsules. Through adjusting the covering density of nanocapsules on the CS microcapsules, the color-changing performance and antibacterial ability could be regulated. Moreover, it exhibited a good durable color-changing property even after repeatedly color fatigue resistance test, and the obtained multifunctional fabric is capable of thermal insulation property owing to the phase material in the microcapsules. This study provides guide for the preparation of CS-based microcapsules and high-performance textiles.