Modification of textiles for functional applications

Textiles have witnessed tremendous progress in the last decades, from the simple use as cloths to protective and easy-to-care fabrics with active and smart functions, such as antimicrobial, insect-repellent, water-repellent, odour-control, flame-retardant, among other functions. These functionalities are not intrinsic to textiles and, thus, are mainly introduced by chemical or physical modifications, which deeply contribute to widen their scope of applications. In this context, the present chapter intends to provide a concise overview of the fundamentals of modification of natural (e.g., cotton, silk and wool) and synthetic (e.g., regenerated cellulose, nylon and polyester) textile fibres, by both chemical and physical methods. The applications of the resulting functional textiles will be covered by targeting functions, such as antimicrobial, insect-repellent, odour-control, flame-retardant, water-repellent, photocatalytic, thermoregulating, conductive and antistatic. Finally, the paramount concepts will be highlighted, and some future perspectives for the design of functional textile materials will be considered.