Fabrication of highly durable functional textile through microencapsulation of organic citronella oil

The use of organic and eco-friendly plant-based materials has shown an increasing interest for researchers over recent years. This study describes the preparation of microcapsules from a natural citronella oil and its treatment on polyester-cotton blended (PC) fabric. The citronella oil is an essential oil obtained from the leaves and stems of various species of Cymbopogon. Microcapsules containing citronella oil as core material were produced by a complex coacervation technology and applied to fabric using the pad-dry-cure method. The morphology of the solution of microcapsules was investigated by optical microscope and the dried microcapsules were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Furthermore, the microcapsules were also characterized for particle size distribution and zeta potential. SEM was also used to investigate the surface morphology of fabric surfaces after the treatment of microcapsules. A conventional test technique (cage test) was used to evaluate the medicated fabric's ability to keep mosquitoes away and comfort properties of fabric like air permeability and water absorbency were also studied. The fabric sample finished with 15% (solid in water) citronella oil microcapsules at zero wash exhibited 90% mosquito repellency, and after 30 washes the fabric possessed 80% mosquito repellency committing the durability of as prepared finished fabric. The medicated PC fabric revealed good air permeabilities and water absorbencies. Hence, this report presented an eco-friendly approach for the development of highly durable functional mosquito repellent textiles.