Thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) grafted polyester textiles with switchable surface wettability

Thermo-responsive textile is newly developed and has wide application potentials in various fields. As the most commonly used textile, polyester has advantages in easy care, great durability and low cost. Since it has no reactive groups in fiber for surface functionalization, amino groups were generated by aminolysis in this study. By applying alkali deweighting during the aminolysis process, more -NH2 was produced. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) was then grafted onto the surface via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Infrared and X-ray photoelectron scanning measurements confirmed the success of PNIPAAm grafting. The thermo-switchable surface wettability was then explored by the test of surface wettability and fiber swelling–deswelling behavior. When the temperature rose, the surface switched from hydrophilic to hydrophobic as the contact angle transited from 0° to 120° reversely. This work established a feasible way and provided a new insight for preparing thermo-responsive polyester fabrics with smart cleaning and smart comfort properties.