Development of functional textile via microencapsulation of peppermint oils: a novel approach in textile finishing

Purpose The efforts of researchers in the 21st century have been devoted to developing novel approaches to leave planet earth green for future generations. This study aims to report the synthesis of microcapsules from natural essential peppermint oil and their application to a bleached polyester and cotton (PC) blended fabric. Design/methodology/approach Microcapsules were prepared by a complex coacervation process and applied through the conventional pad-dry-cure method. The liquid suspension of the microcapsules was examined by optical microscopy to investigate the surface morphology of the microcapsules. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the surface morphology of the fabric after the application of the microcapsules. The finished fabric was checked for its mosquito repellent activity at the lab scale using a standard test protocol (cage test) by inserting a human arm and hand enfolded with microcapsules treated fabric. Findings PC fabric treated with 6% microencapsulated peppermint oil at zero wash showed 95.3% repellency against mosquitoes, and after 30 washes, the repellency was 85.8% which confirmed the durability of the developed finished fabric. The finished samples exhibited excellent air permeabilities and absorbencies. Originality/value This study successfully developed peppermint oil microencapsulated fabric with excellent efficacy against three mosquito species.