Encapsulation of α-Tocopheryl Acetate into Zeolite Y for Textile Application

A useful encapsulation methodology has been developed to fabricate alpha-tocopheryl acetate-zeolite Y microcapsules. These new microcapsules have been applied to obtain special textile polyamide fibers. The presence of alpha-tocopheryl acetate in both microcapsules and special fibers has been qualitatively and quantitatively determined using various techniques such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two different techniques to extract the alpha-tocopheryl acetate encapsulated in both microcapsules and special fibers have been compared: liquid liquid extraction, that gives the best results under the studied conditions, and supercritical CO2 extraction, which is useful when there are mass transfer limitations as in the case of the special fibers. Mechanical properties of the fiber do not significantly change when they are fabricated with zeolite Y microcapsules. Finally, fabrics knitted with yarns of alpha-tocopheryl acetate-zeolite Y microcapsules state a significant presence of the additive after 100 washing machine cycles (30 degrees C, neutral soap).