A study on the functionalization of cotton and viscose fabrics to achieve bifunctional conductive and antibacterial properties was carried out; 0.5 wt% AgNW ethanolic colloid was prepared, and fabrics were dipped and dried in the colloid 1, 10 and 15 times. After one dipping, both fabrics remained nonconductive, and the surface resistance (R _s) of cotton was 4.9 × 10¹⁰ and of viscose 3.6 × 10¹¹ Ω. Excellent conductivity properties were shown in cotton fabric after 10 dippings (20 Ω) and in viscose fabric after 15 dippings (46 Ω). The Ag content of these fabrics was 53.3 and 52.3% (SEM/EDX analysis) and 13.77 and 14.12% (TG/DTG analysis) for cotton and viscose, respectively. XRD analysis revealed the presence of AgNWs on the fabric surface. FTIR/ATR, Raman and TG analysis confirmed the effects of modifications. The AgNW layers on both fabric surfaces were resistant to abrasion. After 50 washes of the modified cotton fabric, R _s increased from 20 to 195 Ω. The AgNW layer was stable and the fabric still highly conductive. However, viscose fabric became nonconductive after two washes, and the surface resistance increased from 46 to 1.4 × 10¹¹ Ω. The tensile strength of cotton modified with AgNWs increased by about 49% and for viscose decreased by about 27%. AgNW-modified cotton fabric showed a significant antibacterial effect against S. aureus and K. pneumoniae bacteria. The presented method is more suitable for cotton because the modified cotton fabric retains the mechanical and conductive properties even after many washes.

The aim of the study was the combination of two measurement methods, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared thermography to evaluate thermal performance of woven and knitted fabrics coated with acrylic pastes containing 20% (P/20) and 40% (P/40) of microcapsules of phase change materials (MPCM) with transition temperatures of 28 °C (MPCM28) and 43 °C (MPCM43). The DSC analysis showed that the phase transition processes for materials modified with pastes P/20 occur in a narrower temperature range than those modified with P/40 pastes. The initial temperatures T_{Onset (S-S)} and T_{Onset (S-L)} are higher for materials modified respectively with pastes P/20 and P/40. The melting and crystallization enthalpy values of both P/20 coated materials are lower by about 45% and 35% compared to P/40. Infrared thermography analysis showed that materials modified with P/20 are heating up faster than modified with P/40 for both MPCM. In the cooling process for modified fabrics the highest temperature decrease was observed in the first 30s. Materials modified with paste P/40 were cooled more slowly in comparison with paste P/20, both for MPCM28 and MPCM43.