Fabricating of flame retardant and antibacterial lyocell fabrics through the finishing of phosphorus and nitrogen-containing flame retardant and coating of copper nanoparticles

To endow lyocell fabric with flame retardant and antibacterial properties, tri (2-hydroxyethyl) isocyanurate was utilized to synthesize a phosphorus and nitrogen-containing flame retardant (ATHEIC), which was then used to prepare flame retardant lyocell fabric (FR-lyocell). The antibacterial properties of FR-lyocell were achieved by adsorbing copper ions on the fabric surface followed by reducing to copper nanoparticles. The lyocell fabric treated with 30 wt% ATHEIC solution possessed an LOI value of 35.8%, which remained 31.9% even after 20 laundering cycles. The char residue at 800 °C of FR-lyocell under nitrogen and air atmosphere was 48.6 wt% and 27.3 wt%, respectively, indicating excellent char forming performance. Antibacterial tests showed that the modified lyocell fabric had a bacteriostatic zone width of 5.3 mm and 4.6 mm against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. This work provides a new approach to fabricate multifunctional lyocell fabric with flame retardant and antibacterial properties.