Sol-gel Technology for Chemical Modification of Textiles

In contemporary life, hi-tech textiles include innovative polymers, whose use is not limited solely to the textile and clothing industry, but has also spread quickly in recent years to other sectors such as pharmacy, medicine, construction, agriculture, transport, tourism and the food industry. Their production is directly related to the introduction of nanotechnology in the textile industry. Nanotechnological processes have been established in the production of fibrogenic polymers and in the chemical finishing of planar textiles, which leads to the creation of products with new or improved properties with high added value.
A special place among nanotechnological processes of fibre functionalization is held by sol-gel technology [1-3], which represents a new approach to the preparation of the composite materials. It enables a creation of nanocomposite polymer films on the surface of the fibres giving the textiles new mechanical, optical, electrical and biological properties that cannot be achieved using conventional finishing agents. It is of great commercial importance in the production of woven fabric, knitwear and unwoven textiles for protective work clothing, textiles for sport and recreation, textiles for the home and the public sector, medical textiles, sanitary materials and technical textiles.