Functional nano and micro-scale thin film deposition on textiles: Emerging technologies and applications

This paper discusses the emerging technologies to produce uniform films of functional materials on textiles. These include development of nano-coatings and micro-scale coatings using physical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition techniques, and layer-by-layer deposition on textile substrates. Functionalities are added by these processes to textiles such as electromagnetic shielding, antibacterial efficacy, heat or UV radiation resistance, electrical conductivity, soil and oil release, self cleaning, chemical resistance and flame retardancy, with minimum effect on the strength, handle or comfort properties.