Sustainable, Durable, Multifunctional Finishing of Biobased Textile Fabric Using Recycled Sericin as a Finishing Agent

Although multifunctional textiles are the need of the hour, achieving this multifunctionality by using renewable, sustainable resources while keeping production costs at the lowest is vital for the survival of mankind. This study reports a sustainable, superhydrophilic, antioxidant, antibacterial textile fabric which was achieved by using silk sericin as a finish and polylactic acid, a biobased fiber, as a substrate. Initially, silk sericin was treated with 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride to enhance its antibacterial activity. The fabric surface was treated with alkali to impart reactivity and make finishing durable. FTIR, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy of sericin after modification revealed that sericin has covalently bonded to 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride and conductive titration revealed that the degree of substitution is 0.09 per bulk sericin unit. The polylactic acid fabric after treatment with modified sericin exhibited 100% antibacterial activity and 0° water contact angle, while the fabric's mechanical strength loss was acceptable (