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Performance textiles that protect human from different threats and dangers from environment are in high demand, and the advancement in functionalization technology together with employing advanced materials have made this an area of research focus. In this work, silicone rubber and environmentally friendly fluoropolymers have been employed to explore superomniphobic surface on cotton fabrics without compromising comfort much. It has been found that a cross-linked network between the rubber membrane and the fluoropolymers has been formed. The surface appearance, morphology, handle, thickness and chemical components of the surface of cotton fabrics have been changed. The coated fabrics showed resistance to water, aqueous liquid, oil, chemicals and soil. The comfort of the coated fabrics is different to uncoated cotton fabrics due to the existence of coated layers on the surface of cotton fabrics. This work would benefit the development and design of the next generation of performance textiles with balanced performance and comfort.

This research aims to develop a non-fluorine based and durable coating technology that brings excellent hydrophobic, oleophobic and aqueous liquid repellent properties to polycotton fabrics (blend ratio 80/20 for cotton/polyester) while maintaining comfort to an acceptable level. A crosslinked network from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and trimethylated silica (TMS) has been formed on the surface of polycotton fabrics by the conventional padding-knife coating-padding-curing technique. A series of characterizations have been conducted to understand the chemical components, morphology, versatile protection and comfort of the coated fabrics. The TPU-PDMS-TMS (TPT) coated fabrics showed a high hydrophobic surface with a high water contact angle of 142 • , and the coating was durable against different cycles of laundering and crocking. The coated fabrics also showed excellent repellency against oils, liquids and chemicals for a long period of time. The coating has affected the air permeability and water vapor permeability together with the moisture management property of the polycotton fabrics, and the thermal resistance of the polycotton fabric has been enhanced at the same time. The coating technology developed can be further applied in protective clothing and functional textiles in different areas including military, mining and outdoor protection gear.

Pigment printing was carried out on lab scale by simple screen-printing techniques. By the application of acrylate and butadiene based binder, the crocking fastness, formaldehyde release and PVC migration of fabric printed with Imparon red KB pigment was evaluated. The effect of curing time on K/S values was also investigated. It has been found that butadiene based binder shows good performance in terms of crocking fastness, formaldehyde release and PVC migra-tion. It has also been observed that by increasing the binder concentration, the release of formaldehyde decreased and by increasing the curing time, the K/S values of printed fabric were decreased