The maintenance and improvement of current properties and the creation of new material properties are the most important reasons for the functionalisation of textiles. The coating of textiles with chemically or physically modified silica sols with particle diameters smaller than 50 nm (''nanosols'') enables the manifold alteration of their physico-mechanical, optical, electrical and biological properties. Thus the protection of textiles against destruction and the creation of new advantageous functions can be realised. Prospective new products to be developed include textiles with water, oil and soil repellency and with antimicrobial properties. This article discusses recent results from applying modified silica nanosols to the functionalisation of textiles.

The associating behavior of a series of monodisperse poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(methacrylic acid) (PDMAEMA-b-PMAA) ampholytic diblock copolymers has been studied in water in the dilute regime as a function of pH and salt concentration. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) has been used to monitor the association behavior and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to visualize the morphology of the aggregates. At and around the isoelectric point (IEP) of the ampholytic diblocks, strong electrostatic interactions occur and lead to the formation of insoluble complexes between negatively and positively charged blocks. These electrostatic interactions can be screened by the addition of salt, which leads to the partial dissolution of the material, according to Debye screening. For samples containing a major PDMAEMA block, spherical micelles are observed below the IEP. These micelles consist of a PMAA core surrounded by a water-soluble protonated PDMAEMA corona. At and above the IEP, these samples are insoluble. Spherical micelles are also formed below the IEP for samples containing a minor PDMAEMA block. These copolymers are insoluble at and around the IEP, whereas solubility is observed above the IEP with formation of aggregates of remarkable morphologies, including hollow spheres and complex compartmentalized aggregates. This aggregation is most favorable at high pH, and it cannot be accounted for only by electrostatic interaction between oppositely charged blocks. Indeed, short-range hydrophobic interaction between uncharged PDMAEMA blocks seems to play a key role in the association process. This is emphasized by quaternized poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(methacrylic acid) ampholytic copolymers which are carrying a permanent positive charge on the aminated monomeric units and do not form these particular aggregates.

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