Development of Nanoemulsion of Silicone Oil and Pine Oil Using Binary Surfactant System for Textile Finishing

Nanoemulsions of silicone oil and pine oil using a binary surfactant system were prepared. Silicone oil and pine oil were used to achieve softness and mosquito repellency and antibacterial activity respectively when the nanoemulsion was applied on the fabric. A silicone surfactant (AG-pt) and a hydrocarbon surfactant (TDA-6) were used in different proportions to obtain stable nanoemulsions at the lowest possible droplet size. The various emulsification process variables such as ratio of hydrocarbon to silicone surfactant, surfactant concentration, ratio of silicone oil to pine oil, oil weight fraction and sonication time have been studied. The optimal variables include the ratio of hydrocarbon to silicone surfactant of 80:20, surfactant concentration of 8%, ratio of silicone oil to pine oil of 80:20, oil weight fraction of 20% and 15 min of sonication time at 40% of the applied power. Nanoemulsions were found to be very stable with emulsion droplet size around 41 nm. In order to compare different emulsification techniques, emulsions were also prepared using the conventional method. Emulsions analyzed using SEM showed spherical droplets ranging from 40 to 120 nm. Atomic force microscopy was used to evaluate the bounciness, fluffiness and softness of fabric. From this study, it was found that stable nanoemulsion with a lowest possible droplet size of silicone and pine oil could be prepared by ultrasonic emulsification technique in order to deliver multiple properties when applied to fabric.