Antibacterial and UV protection properties of textile filaments fabricated from kraft pulp-based carboxymethylated cellulose covalently cross-linked with carbon nanotubes

Black textile filaments having good mechanical strength and low water absorbency were spun from carboxymethylated cellulose cross-linked with amine functionalized carboxylated carbon nanotubes ( afc -CNT). Incorporating 1 wt.% afc -CNT by crosslinking resulted in filaments with increased mechanical strength (tenacity ~ 1.2 cN/dtex) and a lower water absorbency (water absorbency ~ 0.62 g water/g fiber). The fabricated cellulosic textile filaments also demonstrated antibacterial activity and UV protection capability due to incorporation of afc -CNT. Excellent level of color fastness was achieved for the composite textile filaments because of a chemical bond formation between carboxymethylated cellulose and afc -CNT. Graphical abstract