Functional cotton fabric using hollow glass microspheres: focus on thermal insulation, flame retardancy, UV-protection and acoustic performance

This research aims at developing novel multifunctional coatings on cotton fabrics using titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) (2−20 wt%). Different properties of fabrics including thermal insulation, flame retardancy, and acoustic performance were studied. In addition, the impact of the coating process on UV-protection and mechanical properties of fabrics was also explored. The thermal insulation of fabrics was characterized based on thermal infrared (IR) imaging and sweating guarded hot plate testing system. The findings demonstrated that the presence of HGMs on the surface of cotton improved the thermal resistance by 78% highlighting their superior thermal insulation. The thermal stability and flame retardancy of samples were tested using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), limiting oxygen index (LOI), and vertical flame testing. The obtained results confirmed the protective role of the developed coatings in increasing the thermal stability and lowering the flammability of samples. The presence of a thin layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on cotton fabrics gave rise to an excellent UV-protection where the UPF level increased by 2.8 fold compared with the uncoated sample. In addition, fabrics coated with HGMs showed superior sound absorption behavior over the frequency range of 0−3500 Hz. The developed multifunctional fabrics can be of potential applications as new generation of curtains, protective clothing, and even automotive interior parts.