Core–shell nanocapsules containing essential oil for textile application

Abstract

ABSTRACT A novel polysiloxane‐modified aromatic nanocapsule with hard core and soft shell has been prepared by two‐stage emulsion polymerization method. The core of the nanocapsule is made up of styrene/methyl methacrylate copolymer, while the shell is poly(butyl acrylate) modified by octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope images reveal well‐defined core–shell morphology of the particles, and the average particle size is about 100 nm. Ultraviolet–visible analysis shows that the essential oil can be well encapsulated by the nanocapsules and the encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity are 78.76% and 26.25%, respectively. The residual rate of essential oil is about 25.3% after being washed 15 times, which indicates that the nanocapsules have excellent washing durability. These core–shell aromatic nanocapsules show great potential application in fabrics treatment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 45695.