Thermochromic wool fabric was prepared via grafting thiol-modified thermochromic microcapsule

Abstract Thermochromic microcapsules have excellent reversible discoloration and encapsulation properties and have been widely used in the development of color-changing smart textiles. However, there are few reports on the graft modification of microcapsules to form covalent bonds with fabrics. In this study, mercapto-modified thermochromic microcapsules are successfully introduced into wool fabric utilizing cleavage and reconstruction of disulfide bonds in wool fibers. DSC results showed that the phase transition temperature of the microcapsules was 48.98℃., and the wool fabric treated with thiol-modified thermochromic microcapsules has excellent color fastness. When the amount of 3-Mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane accounted for 10% of Tetraethyl orthosilicate, The color-changing polar fleece fabric is grade 3 in fade resistance, grade 5 in fade resistance, grade 3 in wet rub resistance, and grade 4 in dry rub resistance. The microcapsules-treated wool fabric has good reversible thermochromic properties. Even after 30 times of heating and cooling experiments, the K/S value of thermochromic woolen fabric remains unchanged.