Microencapsulation of limonene with polyurethane-urea and its application on cotton fabrics

Abstract

Refreshing scents are encapsulated and bonded to the fabric, and when they stay for a long time, they have a positive effect on people. In the study, limonene was microencapsulated with polyurethane-urea, which formed a strong and stable shell, and was fixed to cotton fabric with intermediate binders (butane tetracarboxylic acid, succinic acid, citric acid) containing multiple carboxyl groups at different curing temperatures. The dimensions of the microcapsules, the effect of mixing speed on the size of the capsule, the efficiency of microencapsulation and the effectiveness of intermediate binders, the fastness of microencapsulated fabrics to UV rays, rubbing and washing were investigated. The following results were obtained: Average microcapsule size 3.18–13.70 µm, microencapsulation efficiency of 73.16–96.24%, active substance loss of 5.7–15.1% for 8 weeks at 20°C and under UV rays 3.32%, binder BTCA that best binds capsules to fabric and capsules adherence to fabric up to 8 washes.