Preparation and characterization of β-cyclodextrin grafted silk fabric

Silk fabrics were treated by β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) in the presence of citric acid (CA) as crosslinking agent and sodium hypophosphite (SHP) as catalyst using pad dry cure technique. CA is expected to react with β-CD and hydroxyl groups of silk fibroin via esterification reaction. Four independent factors including curing time, curing temperature, β-cyclodextrin, and citric acid concentrations were selected, and effects of these factors on the weight gain of the samples were examined. Fourier transformed infrared spectrometer (FTIR), weight gain, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermal gravimetric (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) were employed to confirm the changes of the silk fabrics. The effect of crosslinking reaction on the color changing of samples was investigated by measurement yellowness index of the treated fabrics. The results revealed that the weight gain could reach up to 22% when fabric was treated with 50 g/L β-CD, 100 g/L CA under 170°С for 3 min. FTIR and thermal analysis demonstrated that β-CD had been grafted onto silk fabric successfully.