Nano surface modification of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fabrics for enhanced comfort properties for activewear

[Display omitted] •Durable networked structure of NPs with resin on PET having high-density hydroxyl groups with low water-binding energy.•Substantial improvement in all three moisture management properties (i.e. absorption, wicking, and evaporation) of PET.•Moisture and thermal management of fabric investigated using IR thermography.•Surface characterization techniques demonstrate enhanced properties by increased roughness and surface –OH bond percentage.•Reported method is scalable and industrially relevant. Moisture absorption and transport properties of fabrics determine the thermo-physiological comfort of the apparel. The study aims to investigate the application of hydrophilic metal oxide nanostructures on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabrics and their influence on the comfort properties of PET. Both, the sol-gel synthesized nano sols and commercially available nanoparticles (NPs) of SiO2 and TiO2 with different concentrations were applied on PET fabric alone or in combination with a hydrophilic resin. The composite of nanoparticles and resin exhibited radical improvement in the moisture management behavior of PET substrate, which is crucial for its industrial viability for activewear. At add-on of < 2wt%, this nano-finishing agent led to remarkable enhancement in wettability, wickability, and evaporation of moisture. Based on the surface morphology and chemical characteristics of the treated fabrics, a mechanism has been proposed to explain the role of nanoparticles in the enhancement of moisture management properties. It has been shown that in the presence of resin, the nanoparticles form a durable network on the surface of PET fibers and play a synergistic role in moisture and heat management of the finished fabric. Infrared thermography has been used to demonstrate the potential of such combination to attain enhanced comfort properties.