Nanoparticles based coatings for multifunctional Polyamide 66 textiles with improved flame retardancy and hydrophilicity.

• TiO 2 /SiO 2 NPs based multifunctional coatings were prepared for PA66 textiles • The flame retardancy and hydrophilicity were escalated in a several fold • The TiO 2 nanoparticle along with phytic acid improved the LOI value by 24.5% • TiO 2, phytic acid and chitosan handed a substantial reduction in pHRR by 25% • SiO 2 nanoparticle and phytic acid formulation enhanced hydrophilicity markedly Novel nanoparticles (NPs) namely, TiO 2 and SiO 2 along with naturally derived phytic acid (PA) and chitosan (CS) were used to improve the flame retardant and hydrophilic properties of polyamide 66 (PA66) fabrics via pad-dry-cure technique. The application of PA-TiO 2 enhanced the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value up to 24.5 % for the treated fabrics from 19.5% of the pure fabric and accelerated char yield%. Conversely, the introduction of chitosan (CS) into the PA-TiO 2 /SiO 2 formulations brought a significant reduction in the peak heat release rate (pHRR) where a maximum reduction of 25 % was achieved for the PA66-PA-CS-T fabric sample. Meanwhile, the hydrophilicity of treated fabrics was improved significantly, especially with PA-SiO 2 formulation as the water contact angle was reduced to 29˚ for the treated fabrics from 112˚ for the pure PA66. In addition, the formulations containing nanoparticles (TiO 2 /SiO 2) along with PA boosted up the tensile strength of treated textiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]