Application of sol-gel process for modifying textile surfaces and properties

Abstract

Today contemporary textiles are required to offer high efficiency and multifunctionality in terms of protection and comfort. Multifunctional textiles with improved or completely new combinations of properties that are not present in traditional textiles have a scientific, technological and potentially economic significance. The sol-gel process is considered to be one of the most important discoveries in recent decades and is one of the new and completely different approaches to the modification of textiles. In the field of textile technology, the sol-gel process offers great opportunities in terms of flexibility and achieving the targeted modifications by combining various inorganic and organic raw materials, which can result in brand new multifunctional properties of textiles. Hybrid, organic-inorganic materials are extremely sensitive to the conditions and preparation procedures, requiring very good knowledge of chemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics so that the sol-gel process could be successfully applied to textiles.