Natural
bioactive compounds as promising alternatives to synthetic
finishing agents have recently gained increasing attention in the
textile industry due to their eco-friendliness, low irritation, and
biocompatibility. The present study reports a sustainable approach
for preparing antibacterial, antioxidant, and UV-protective silk fiber
using two natural flavonoids (quercetin and rutin) by an adsorption
technique. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of the two flavonoids
were investigated, and their functionalities and the washing durability
of their functionalities were discussed. The equilibrium adsorption
isotherms fitted well to the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models,
demonstrating that ion–ion interactions, hydrogen bonding,
and van der Waals forces play major roles in the adsorption of quercetin
and rutin on silk. The adsorption isotherm parameters of quercetin
and rutin had a decisive effect on their adsorption kinetics, which
fit well to the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. Quercetin exhibited
higher initial adsorption rate, shorter half adsorption time, and
higher adsorption capability than those of rutin due to its higher
affinity constant. Quercetin also imparted better antioxidant, antibacterial,
and UV protection performance to silk than rutin at the same initial
application concentration and provided better washing durability of
functionalities. This study demonstrates that quercetin and rutin
can be employed as promising multifunctional agents for the chemical
processing of silk materials.
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