Preparation of durable insecticide cotton fabrics through sol–gel treatment with permethrin

This paper presents the development of an industrially viable procedure for the fabrication of durable insecticide textiles based on the sol–gel technique. Permethrin was incorporated on cotton fabrics by a silicon oxide nanocoating applied by conventional padding followed by curing. The effect of the sol–gel process parameters, such as silica solid content and the permethrin/tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) ratio on the insecticide activity and on the textile properties of the resulting fabrics was evaluated. The application of the nanosol coating results in textiles with a high anti-mosquito effect without altering their flexibility and softness. Moreover, this method allows the insecticide content to be controlled by simply adding the proper amount of it to the coating bath. The washing fastness was assessed on a textile with a permethrin loading close to 500 mg/m2 of fabric showing a good insecticide effect even after 50 washing cycles.