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DOI: 10.1177/1528083717736103
performance optimization journals.sagepub.com/home/jit

of polyurethane-based
multifunctional coatings
using Taguchi method

Amjed Javid, Khurram Iftikhar, Munir Ashraf, Abdur Rehman,

Kashif Iqbal, Tanveer Hussain and Abdul basit

Abstract
Inducing multifunctionality is the need of the products used in diverse environments.
Here, polyurethane-based water repellent, flame retardant and antibacterial coatings
are fabricated on cotton fabrics which sequentially involve the deposition of coating
through knife coating, drying and curing of coated fabric. Taguchi design has been used
to optimize the parameters for enhanced water repellency, flame retardancy and anti-
bacterial activity. When applied individually, the performance characteristics enhance
with the increase in concentration of respective finishing agent. However, a different
behaviour was shown by the coated fabric when applied all the finishing agents simul-
taneously. Taguchi design enabled the monitoring of interdependency of different con-
centrations of chemicals and finding the most influencing parameters for efficient
performance of coated fabrics.

Keywords
Antibacterial activity, flame retardant, Taguchi design, polyurethane coatings, water
repellent

Introduction
Textiles, being the flexible substrates, are the focus of the research for diverse
applications because of inexpensive raw material, bulk production capability and
interesting physico-chemical characteristics [1]. Imparting new functionalities in the

Functional Textiles Research Group, National Textile University, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Corresponding author:
Munir Ashraf, National Textile University, Sheikhupura Road, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
Email: munir.ashraf01@gmail.com
2 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

textiles is a step to widen the span of their characteristics and potential applications
in the different situations [2]. Textile surfaces have been made flame retardant and
superhydrophobic through deposition of coatings via solution dipping technique
[3]. Onar and Mete [4] used the sol-gel technique to introduce the water–oil repel-
lency and flame retardancy in the cotton textiles. The superhydrophobicity has also
been achieved by coating the fabric surface with fluorinated silyl functionalized
zirconia [5]. Cotton fabrics functionalized with single wall carbon nanotubes exhi-
bit the potential as flexible heaters [6]. The functionalization of cotton fabric has
also been carried out using porous -cyclodextrin polymer for water purification
and odour control [7].
Polyurethane-(PU) based polymers exhibit superior flexibility owing to their low
Tg. The PU-coated fabrics show the higher resistance to abrasion. Because of
absence of plasticizers, PU coatings can withstand washing and dry cleaning [8].
Cotton textiles, being used in various application areas particularly in public places
(cinemas, hospitals, seminar rooms, etc.), must fulfill the safety requirements such
as flame retardancy, liquid repellency and antibacterial activity [9–10]. The fire has
been found to cause huge property loss, civilian casualties and significant injuries
every year throughout the world [3]. Surface modification of the substrates is an
effective and versatile technique to impart the flame retardant characteristics [11].
Recently, Das et al. [12] produced the flame retardant textiles through bioinspired
hybrid coating of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose/montmorillonite. The surface of
cotton fabrics modified with organosilicon functionalized cyclotriphosphazene
exhibited excellent flame retardant properties [13]. Further, cotton textiles exhibit
the hydrophilic behaviour due to the presence of hydroxyl groups. The excessive
hydrophilicity of natural fibres reduces the adhesion and provides an environment
favorable for the growth of microorganisms. The highly hydrophobic textile sur-
faces gain sufficient attention owing to their anti-sticking, anti-contamination and
self cleaning characteristics [14]. To avoid these limitations, cotton fabrics have
been treated for enhanced hydrophobicity and antibacterial activity [15–19]. The
surface of cotton fabrics has been reported to functionalize with Ce doped ZnO
nanorods to enhance UV resistance and antibacterial activity [20]. The combined
hydrophobicity and antibacterial activity have been achieved on fabrics treated
with Cu nanoparticles doped silica-based sols [21]. Most of the research work
has focused on the modification of surfaces for multifunctionality through
simple chemical treatments (dip method). The work on achieving multifunctiona-
lization by coatings is not much reported and needs to be performed
comprehensively.
Here, we deposited PU coatings on cotton fabrics to achieve simultaneous water
repellency, fire retardancy and antibacterial activity. The concentration of various
finishing agents has been optimized for enhanced performance using Taguchi
method. The present work provided superior multifunctional characteristics in
cotton fabrics suitable to be used in areas of indoor public places.
Javid et al. 3

Table 1. Design of experiment for multifunctional polyurethane-based coatings.

RUCO-BAC RUCO-FLAM RUCO-GUARD

Sr # AGP (%) SCO (%) AFR (%)

S1 0.2 –
S2 0.4 – –
S3 0.6 – –
S4 – – 2
S5 – – 4
S6 – – 6
S7 – 20 –
S8 – 30 –
S9 – 40 –
S10 0.2 20 2
S11 0.2 30 4
S12 0.2 40 6
S13 0.4 20 2
S14 0.4 30 4
S15 0.4 40 6
S16 0.6 20 2
S17 0.6 30 4
S18 0.6 40 6

Experimental
RUCO-COAT PU 1110, RUCO-GUARD AFR, and RUCO-BAC AGP were
obtained from Rudolf. RUCO-COAT PU 1110 is aqueous, aliphatic polyether
polyurethane dispersion. RUCO-GUARD AFR is formulation of fluorocarbon
resin used for water and oil repellent of textiles. RUCO-FLAM SCO is a halogen
and antimony-free flame retardant which contains organic and inorganic salts.
RUCO-BAC AGP is suspension of AgCl/TiO2. Lutexal HIT is acrylic-based thick-
ener which was obtained from BASF. Desized and bleached 100% cotton fabric
with 30/1 warp and weft count, 76 ends and 68 picks per inch was obtained
from Amtex (Pvt) Ltd. PU 200 was used to prepare polyurethane dispersion.
RUCO-GUARD AFR, RUCO-FLAM SCO and RUCO-BAC AGP were used
as water repelling agent (WRA), flame retarding agent (FRA) and antibacterial
agent (ABA), respectively. PU-based coatings were prepared by adding 35 g/l PU
followed by 2 g/l liquor ammonia. Then the various concentrations of WRA,
FRA and ABA were added in the PU dispersion with constant stirring according
to the design of experiment given in Table 1. At the end, Lutexil thick HIT plus was
4 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 1. Representation of the schematic for the preparation of multifunctional antibacterial,

water repellent and flame retardant coatings.

added drop wise with constant stirring to achieve required viscosity. The fabric was
cut into small samples with dimensions 1300  1600 . The fabric samples were coated
up to three layers by knife coating machine (Aigly, Italy) followed by drying and
curing using stenter (Farmatex). After first and second layers, the fabric was only
dried and after third layer it was dried and cured. The schematic of the application
process is shown in Figure 1. For the individual water repellent and antibacterial
finishes, only the top layer contains WRA and FRA, respectively. However, to
achieve flame retardancy, all the three layers have FRA.
AATCC 100 antimicrobial standard test method was used to quantitatively test
the antimicrobial activity of the textile fabrics over the contact period of 24 h
against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Microbial
culture was prepared in growth enrichment broth for 24 h of incubation to obtain
optimum concentration of the test organisms. Optimum counts of test organism
were inoculated onto the coated fabric swatches and untreated control fabric
swatches. Bacteria counts on the fabrics were monitored at the initial stage,
i.e. 0 h by standard microbiological microorganisms monitoring techniques.
Organism inoculated fabrics were then incubated for 24 h under favorable condi-
tions of nutrients and temperature. The antibacterial activity was observed from
zone of inhibition exhibited by the samples.
Water repellency test was performed according to AATCC 22 Standard.
Circular Test specimen with 700 diameter was fixed in a circular hoop. The surface
of specimen was kept smooth and wrinkles free. The apparatus was calibrated by
pouring 250 ml distilled water in the funnel and observing the time required for the
funnel to empty. The hoop was put in the sample holder under the funnel.
A volume of 250 ml distilled water was dropped onto the fabric and observed
the pattern made by water. The specimen was graded according to the standard
spray test ratings. Vertical flammability tester was used to measure the char length.
Char length represents the distance between the fabric edge (exposed to flame) and
the point of visible fabric damage. Specimens were cut in standard size of 300  1200
Javid et al. 5

Figure 2. Antibacterial activity of the coated fabric samples against (a) E. coli and (b) S. aureus
pathways and decreasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes to inhibit the bacterial cell prolif-
eration. Ag ions can introduce structural abnormalities through inhibition of cell division and
damage of the cell envelop. Further, Ag ions can also interact with DNA to damage the bacterial
cells. Ag nanoparticles can be absorbed by the cell through diffusion and endocytosis to generate
the reactive oxygen species which cause the cell damage by interacting with the proteins and
nucleic acids and by dysfunction of the mitochondria [24,25].

both in warp and weft directions and held in flame retardant holder. Flame was set
to 1.500 long. The flame glow was sustained for 12 s. After 12 s of burning, after-
glow time and char length were measured. Tensile strength was observed using ISO
13934-1 standard tensile test. The samples were tested along warp and weft direc-
tions. Sample with size 600 in length and 200 in width was clamped in jaws of
machine. Jaws were opened to 200 mm by moving in opposite direction. The max-
imum force to break the sample was recorded. Fabric thickness was measured by
TMI Precision Micrometers using ASTM D1777 standard test method.

Results and discussion

The fabric samples coated with varying amount of antibacterial finish were ana-
lyzed for antibacterial activity using zone of inhibition technique as shown in
Figure 2. The samples were marked by arrows using sample codes. It can be clearly
observed that all the samples exhibited antibacterial activity showing a clear zone
of inhibition around the samples by successfully killing the bacteria. The bleached
fabric sample exhibiting no zone of inhibition was used as reference. Interestingly,
the samples (S10, S11 and S12) containing the minimal amount of ABA (0.2%)
along with FRA and WRA showed the efficient antibacterial activity exhibiting the
effectiveness of the finish and was not affected by the presence of other finishing
agents. The zone of inhibition, shown by the Ag-based finish, indicated the leaching
of Ag species from the coated fabric samples to interact with the bacteria. The
antibacterial activity of Ag is attributed to both nano-form of Ag and release of Ag
6 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

ions [22]. The release of Ag ions in aqueous solutions, as determined by the intrinsic
physico-chemical properties of Ag nanoparticles, was proposed to be due to the
oxidation of Ag caused by the dissolved oxygen. It can be expressed from the
following reaction [23]

4Ag þ O2 ¼ 2Ag2 O ð1Þ

Ag2 O þ 2Hþ ¼ 2Agþ þ H2 O ð2Þ

According to proposed mechanisms, the antibacterial activity of Ag was attrib-

uted to the interaction of Ag ions with thiol groups present in enzymes and protein
activating the signaling
The uncoated bleached fabric and coated fabric with PU having individual
(WRA) and combined (ABA, FRA and WRA) finishing agents have been investi-
gated for water repellency by analyzing through water repellent ISO ranking water
contact angle as shown in Table 2. The water repellency ISO ranking of fabric
coated with individual finish increases from two to four (S4–S6) with the increase in
concentration of WRA from 0.2% to 0.6%. The water contact angle results were in
accordance with water repellent ISO ranking as the maximum water contact angle
(124 ) was exhibited by S6. The increase in concentration of fluorocarbon-based

Table 2. Water repellency of fabrics coated using individual WRA and in com-
bination with ABA and FRA.

Water repellent Water contact

Sr. no. Sample description ISO Ranking angle (degree)

1 Bleached fabric 0 0
2 S4 2 110
3 S5 3 116
4 S6 4 124
5 S10 1 105
6 S11 1 107
7 S12 3 119
8 S13 2 112
9 S14 1 108
10 S15 2 114
11 S16 3 121
12 S17 2 109
13 S18 3 118
WRA: water repelling agent; FRA: flame retarding agent; ABA: antibacterial agent.
Javid et al. 7

WRA increases the water repellency because of the increase in C–F bonds in the
coatings. The very low surface energy of C–F bonds was responsible for hydro-
phobicity of the coated fabrics. The water repellency of bleached white fabric was
found to have 0 ranking and water contact angle. The addition of ABA and FRA
slightly lowers the water repellency when compared to individual WRA (water
repellency of S10 < S4). At the same concentration of WRA (0.2%), the water
repellency of fabric was increased with the increase in ABA (water repellency of
S10  S13, S16). At higher concentration of WRA (0.4% and 0.6%), the water
repellency of coated fabric was decreased upon addition of other finishing agents
irrespective of their concentrations. At lower concentration of WRA, the increase
in water repellency was attributed to added effect of other two finishing agents.
At higher concentrations, the decrease in water repellency was attributed to the
inefficient polymerization of fluorocarbon-based emulsion.
The flame retardancy of fabrics coated with individual FRA and in combination
with other finishing agents has been observed to investigate char length both in
warp and weft directions and shown as (A) and (B), respectively in Figure 3. The
uncoated bleached fabric was also analyzed for flame retardancy. The observations
depict that the bleached fabric has higher char length as compared to other coated
samples because of the absence of self extinguishing behaviour of cellulose fibres.
In case of coatings containing FRA only (S7, S8 and S9 having 20%, 30% and
40% FRA, respectively), the char length decreases with the increase in the concen-
tration of FRA. The observations regarding combined finishes exhibit that the
flame retardancy also increases with the increase in the concentration of FRA.
The difference is that the char length for 20% and 30% FRA is lower for individual
flame retarding finish as compared to combined finishes depicting the higher flame
retardancy of samples coated with FRA only. However, for 40% FRA, the char
length of all samples coated with coatings containing either FRA only or the
combination with other two finishing agents is almost same. It shows the perform-
ance compatibility of flame retardant finish with the other finishing agents.
Figure 4(a) and (b) shows tensile results of all samples, along warp and weft
directions, respectively, coated with coatings either individual or combined finish-
ing agents. In case of individual finishes, it is hard to establish a correlation
between concentration of finishing agent and tensile strength. However, in
combined finishing, most of the coated samples show higher tensile strength than
the bleached sample. Sample S17 shows highest tensile strength (305 N) in warp
direction and S14 sample exhibits the highest tensile strength (258 N) in weft dir-
ection. The higher tensile strength exhibited by the coated samples can be attrib-
uted to the effect contributed by the mechanical bonding between the fabric and
coating layers. Further, the combined resistance to the external load in coated
fabrics leads to the enhanced tensile strength. The applied force has been distrib-
uted between fabric and coating to minimize the external effect which imparts the
higher tensile strength. The variation in thickness of fabric samples along with
process parameters is shown in Figure 4(c). Generally, it is observed that the thick-
ness increases with the increase in concentration of individual finishing agents.
8 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 3. Flame retardancy of coated fabrics analyzed through char length exhibited along
(a) warp and (b) weft.
Javid et al. 9

Figure 4. Tensile strength of coated fabrics along (a) warp and (b) weft and (c). Thickness of
coated fabric samples prepared at various process conditions.
10 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Figure 5. Representation of elongation at break of coated fabrics along (a) warp and (b) weft.
Javid et al. 11

Table 3. Coating factors and S/N ratio.

Factor S/N ratios

Max. load Max. load Char length Char length Water

warp weft warp weft repellency
Sample type N N cm cm ISO

S10 48.3 47.6 24.3 24.6 0.0

S11 47.1 45.0 23.8 24.1 0.0
S12 48.5 46.3 9.5 8.0 6.0
S13 46.2 47.7 24.6 24.1 6.0
S14 45.3 48.2 24.8 24.7 0.0
S15 47.1 46.2 6.8 8.0 0.0
S16 45.9 46.9 23.8 23.9 9.5
S17 49.7 45.3 24.9 25.1 6.0
S18 45.5 45.5 1.6 6.8 0.0
S/N: signal-to-noise.

In case of combined finishing agents present in coatings, it is hard to find the

relation of concentration of finishing agents with the thickness.
The mechanical properties of the coated fabrics were further analyzed through
characterization of elongation at break of all the samples (along warp and weft
directions) coated with either individual or combined finishing agents as shown in
Figure 5(a) and (b), respectively. It is observed that most of the coated samples
showed higher elongation at break as compared to bleached uncoated fabric.
According to results, the highest value in warp direction is shown by sample S17
(18.66%) and highest value in weft direction is exhibited by sample S13. Higher
elongation in warp and weft direction of coated fabric can be attributed to the
elasticity imparted by polyurethane coating due to which coated fabric becomes
more elongated as compare to uncoated bleached fabric.
In Taguchi designs, a measure of robustness is used to identify the control
factors that reduce variability in a product or processes by minimizing the effects
of uncontrol factors (noise factors). The noise factors are manipulated to force the
variability to occur and to identify the optimal control factor settings that make the
process or product robust, or resistant to variation from the noise factors. Higher
values of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) identify control factor settings that min-
imize the effects of the noise factors. The S/N of different factors is given in Table 3.
The optimization through Taguchi method is a two-step process. In first step, S/N
ratio is used to identify the control factors that reduce variability. In the second
step, the identification of control factors is carried out that moves the mean
towards the target and have a little or no effect on S/N ratio.
The optimization is computed using grey relational analysis technique. First, all
factors and responses are accounted together. Then S/N ratios are computed for
12 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Table 4. Coating factor and quality loss (
) table.

Factor Quality loss (
)

Max. load Max. load Char length Char length Water

warp weft warp weft repellency
Sample type N N cm cm ISO

S10 0.32 0.20 0.02 0.03 0.00

S11 0.60 1.00 0.05 0.06 0.00
S12 0.28 0.61 0.66 0.94 0.63
S13 0.79 0.15 0.01 0.06 0.63
S14 1.00 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.00
S15 0.59 0.62 0.77 0.94 0.00
S16 0.85 0.41 0.05 0.06 1.00
S17 0.00 0.92 0.00 0.00 0.63
S18 0.96 0.85 1.00 1.00 0.00

Table 5. Grey relational coefficient calculated using quality loss function.

Factor Grey relational coefficient (GC)

Max. load Max. load Char length Char length Water

warp weft warp weft repellency
Sample type N N cm cm ISO

S10 0.76 0.83 0.98 0.00 1.00

S11 0.63 0.50 0.96 0.95 1.00
S12 0.78 0.62 0.60 0.52 0.61
S13 0.56 0.87 0.99 0.95 0.61
S14 0.50 1.00 0.99 0.98 1.00
S15 0.63 0.62 0.56 0.52 1.00
S16 0.54 0.71 0.96 0.94 0.50
S17 1.00 0.52 1.00 1.00 0.61
S18 0.51 0.54 0.50 0.50 1.00

given responses. These are then normalized from scale 1–10. Then the quality loss
function (
) is calculated for 0–1 and is given in Table 4. Based on this function,
grey relational coefficient is calculated for responses as given in Table 5. Finally,
the grey grade is computed based on this coefficient as shown in Figure 6.
According to the Taguchi method, the statistic delta defined as the difference
between the high and the low effect of each factor, used. A classification can be
Javid et al. 13

Figure 6. Grey grade of different samples computed using Taguchi method.

done to determine the most influential factor. In this case, the multiple objective
optimization problems are transformed into a single equivalent objective function
optimization problem. The higher grey relational grade will be close to the optimal
condition. The value of grey relational grade is directly proportional to the quality
of the product. The sample S16 is showing the highest value followed by sample
S10 showing the second highest value for the grey grade. By optimization, the
robust sample characteristics have been shown by S16 prepared by the coating
containing 20% FRA, 0.2% ABA and 2% WRA.

Conclusion
A multifunctional-coated fabric has been successfully developed exhibiting the
excellent antibacterial activity, flame retardancy and water repellency. The synthe-
sis parameters have been optimized using Taguchi method for enhanced functio-
nalization. It is observed that the antibacterial activity of fabric increases with the
increase in concentration of ABA, and the presence of other agents do not affect
the antibacterial activity. Water repellency of fabric having the highest concentra-
tion of WRA is excellent and is affected by the presence of other finishing agents.
An increasing trend in flame retardancy is observed with the increase in concen-
tration of FRA. The sample S16 is found to be robust containing ABA, WRA and
FRA as 0.2%, 2% and 20%, respectively.
14 Journal of Industrial Textiles 0(00)

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article: This research work was carried out with financial
aide from Higher Education Commission of Pakistan under National Research Program for
Universities [grant number 20-2922].

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