Multifunctional modification of cotton using layer-by-layer finishing with chitosan, sodium lignin sulphonate and boric acid.

Functionally modified fabrics produced using sustainable techniques are in huge demand in today's world. In the present work, cotton fabric was modified using layer-by-layer two-stage finishing method using a solution of chitosan in citric acid (CS) and sodium lignin sulphonate (SLS) with boric acid (BA), thus granting several performance traits like wrinkle-free, antibacterial, flame retardant, UV protection and antioxidant properties. The finished fabric was evaluated for several textile properties like tensile strength, bending length, crease recovery, whiteness index and functional properties like antibacterial activity, UV protection, flame retardancy and antioxidant properties under standard conditions. The finished cotton showed an increase in CRA, antibacterial activity in the range 70-89%, UPF in the excellent range, much higher LOI values with a decrease in heat release and antioxidant activity of higher than 93%. The novel method of multifunctional finishing of cotton by layer-by-layer technique is explored.