Combined antimicrobial finishing and pigment printing of cotton/polyester blends

•Solvent-free pigment printing of cotton/polyester blends.•Inclusion of certain antibacterial auxiliaries into pigment paste formulation.•High quality antibacterial pigment prints in one step.•Remarkable durability to wash. This study demonstrates the possibility of enhancing the antibacterial functionality and pigment printing properties of cotton/polyester blends (50/50 and 35/65) in one step. Inclusion of chitosan (10g/kg), choline chloride (15g/kg), triclosan derivative (20g/kg), hyperbranched poly amide-amine/silver or zinc oxide nanoparticles (HBPAA/Ag-NP's hybrid or HBPAA/ZnO-NP's hybrid – 20g/kg) into a pigment print formulation followed by printing and microwave curing at 386W for 5min results in an improvement in antibacterial activity and pigment printability. It was further noted that, in all cases, the G+ve (S. aureus) bacteria is more susceptible to the action of the immobilized antibacterial agents than the G−ve bacteria (E. coli). The functionalized pigment prints exhibited very sufficient antibacterial activity even after 20 washing cycles. Modes of interactions were proposed, and surface modification was also confirmed by SEM and EDX analysis.