Biocatalytic textiles have emerged as a new class of functional materials that merge the catalytic precision of enzymes with the structural and mechanical advantages of textiles. Their combination of high surface area, flexibility, low pressure drop, and durability enables efficient mass transfer and stable catalytic performance, positioning them as promising candidates for sustainable environmental purification technologies. This review provides an overview of the progress, opportunities, and challenges associated with biocatalytic textiles for water purification and carbon dixoide (CO2) capture application. Starting with fundamental aspects of enzymes and enzyme immobilization strategies that underpin the design and performance of biocatalytic textiles, this report summarizes the applications of biocatalytic textiles in the removal of dyes, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, phenolic compounds and bacteria from contaminated water, demonstrating their potential for addressing key issues in wastewater treatment. Additionally, the emerging use of biocatalytic textiles for CO2 capture is explored as a pathway toward carbon mitigation and efficient carbon management strategies. The review concludes with limitations and future research directions aimed at robust, durable, and industrially viable biocatalytic textile systems for catalytic water and air purification.

Biofilm formation on textiles presents significant challenges in healthcare, industry, and daily use, contributing to microbial contamination, infections, and material degradation. Among biofilm-forming pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is particularly concerning due to its multidrug resistance and ability to evade conventional antibiotics, significantly increasing healthcare burden. To address this issue, we developed medical textiles digitally printed with multimodal silver–chitosan–acylase nanoparticles (AgCS@AC NPs). Fabrics endowed with antimicrobial and quorum-quenching properties inhibited bacterial growth and biofilm formation against P. aeruginosa. The enzyme acylase disrupted the quorum-sensing process of bacterial communication and prevented biofilm development, while the AgCS component of the NPs provided antimicrobial efficacy. Cytotoxicity assays confirmed that printed AgCS@AC NPs did not compromise human fibroblast or keratinocyte viability, ensuring biocompatibility. The eco-friendly, scalable, and versatile digital printing technology was innovatively validated for producing enzyme-enabled nanocomposite antimicrobial textiles for medical applications.

Herein, disperse dyed mixed-colored (blue, yellow, orange) polyester textile (PET) was homogenized into a common final color using a supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) system following Le Chatelier’s equilibrium principle and partition equilibrium between fabric–scCO₂–dye phases and subtractive color mixing principles. For that, mixed-colored PET were placed together in the scCO₂ system at predetermined weight ratios and treated under controlled temperature and pressure conditions. Under supercritical conditions, dye molecules exhibited enhanced mobility and partial redistribution between textile substrates via the scCO₂ medium, enabling chromatic equilibration without the use of auxiliary chemicals or solvents. The resulting PET demonstrated a new and consistent color, confirmed by colorimetric analysis (K/S values) and visual color variance compared to the initial mixed-color feedstock. Detailed data analysis of treated PET revealed that the standard deviation of K/S values within each group ranged from 0.06 to 0.38, confirming homogenized shade across all sample, which is in line with scCO₂’s unique superlevelling capacity, enabling chromatic harmonization. The samples were further analyzed for their color fastness to wash and rubbing as well as tensile strength properties. Results showed that, the color fastness of both wash and rubbing ranges from 4/5–5 with full strength retention before and after the treatment. The results of this study are of great importance, as it presents a new, dry and chemical-free approach for homogenization of mixed-colored waste polyester into a common color to facilitate sustainable repurposing and recycling of textile waste, reducing the need for re-dyeing.

The combination of organic and inorganic moieties resulted in advantageous materials with excellent physicochemical properties and reduced production costs. These organic-inorganic composites exhibited properties suitable for a large range of applications. This study introduces a simple strategy that combines Ni(OH)2 and Ag nanoparticles via thiol organic molecules. The obtained NiO–S(OH)2–Ag nanoparticles were fully characterized by FTIR, SEM, TEM, XPS, Raman, and ATG. The changes in morphology, covalent surface grafting, dispersion of silver nanoparticles, and thermal properties were investigated. NiO–S(OH)2–Ag exhibited an exceptional catalytic activity in reducing the pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The kinetic rate constant was recorded as 0.388 cm-1, corresponding to a conversion uptake of 93.5 %. These values represent a significant improvement over metal-based catalysts of similar or identical compositions previously reported. Both Ag incorporation and S(OH)2 grafting appear to be, at least partly, responsible for the above results. Due to their outstanding catalytic properties and cost-effective production method, the synthesized NiO–S(OH)2–Ag is expected to exhibit excellent performance in the catalytic degradation of industrial pollutants.

This report presents a dry and chemical free approach to waste textile decolorization using supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO₂) technology. Dispersed dyed polyester (PET) fabrics was decolorized in a laboratory-scale ScCO₂ system with pristine PET serving as a dye absorbent guided by the principle of ScCO₂ dyeing. The influence of key process parameters such as time, temperature, pressure, and dyed-to-absorber fabric loading on extraction efficiency was analyzed through the equilibrium constant for dye partitioning. Results revealed that PET fabrics treated at 10:90 dyed-to-absorber loading under 120 °C, 25 MPa for 60 min exhibited the highest decolorization efficiency of (79 – 85) % for all dyes, reflected by the lowest color strength (K/S) values of 0.93 – 2.46. The equilibrium constant (Keq) increased with temperature, pressure, and absorber loading, reflecting improved dye partitioning efficiency. In an attempt to predict the thermodynamic behavior waste textile decolorization using ScCO₂, Peng-Robinson Equation of State (PR-EOS) was used to model the behavior and correlated with experimental values. Results showed modest qualitative agreement with experimental data with an AARD of 27–32 %. In general, the experimental finding of the report demonstrates the promising potential of ScCO₂-mediated decolorization of waste textile fabric, offering a dry, energy-efficient strategy supporting textile recycling.

The stabilization of metal nanoparticles is a key factor in various applications, but its wide use requires the development of effective and advanced materials. For the first time, this work demonstrates that in situ self-assembly of copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) nanoparticles (NPs) via chitosan (Ct) allowed the formation of a new matrix Cu-Ct-Ni. The obtained Cu-Ct-Ni matrix was fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV–vis. The characterization results evidenced the ability of Ct chains to self-assemble Cu-NPs and Ni-Nps with a particular arrangement, forming a sunflower shape of 200–300 nm as diameter. Cu-NPs were stabilized outside Ct-chains, while Ni-NPs were located inside Ct, resulting in new nanomaterials Cu-Ct-Ni with higher thermal stability and unique morphology. The in situ self-assembly involved covalently cross-linked attraction and hydrogen bonding. Evaluation on the catalytic transformation of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, Cu-Ct-Ni showed good stability and a high catalytic capacity. The assessed Cu-Ct-Ni nanocatalysts achieved an excellent conversion rate k of 0.719 cm−1 in 2 min with a turnover frequency (TOF) value of 11.55 s−1, making it the most effective and potential catalyst. The results help understand and analyze the catalytically active chitosan-bimetallic materials for environmental and medical applications.

The need for sustainable and efficient water decontamination methods has led to the increasing use of redox enzymes such as glucose oxidase (GOx). GOx immobilization on textile supports provides a promising alternative for catalyzing pollutant degradation in bio-Fenton (BF) and bio-electro-Fenton (BEF) systems. However, challenges related to enzyme stability, reusability, and environmental impact remain a concern. This communication paper outlines innovative strategies developed to address these challenges, notably the use of ecotechnologies to achieve efficient GOx immobilization while maintaining biocatalytic activity. Plasma ecoprocesses, amino-bearing biopolymer-chitosan, as well as a bio-crosslinker genipin have been used efficiently on conductive carbon and non-conductive polyester-PET nonwovens. In certain cases, immobilized GOx can retain high catalytic activity after multiple cycles, making them an effective biocatalyst for organic dye degradation (Crystal Violet and Remazol Blue) via bio-Fenton reactions, including total heterogeneous bio-Fention system. Moreover, the conductive carbon felt-based bioelectrodes successfully supported simultaneous pollutant degradation and energy generation in a BEF system. This work highlights the potential of textile-based enzyme immobilization for sustainable wastewater treatment, bio-electrochemical energy conversion, and also for bacterial deactivation. Future research will focus on optimizing enzyme stability and enhancing BEF efficiency for large-scale applications.

As wearable electronics advances, integrating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology into textiles offers promising applications in smart clothing, healthcare monitoring, and athletic performance tracking. However, traditional RFID antennas are often rigid, costly, and incompatible with fabric, which compromises comfort, washability, and scalability, limiting their suitability for wearable systems. To address this challenge, this study investigates a low-cost, flexible method for producing textile-based RFID antennas using screen printing. A square antenna was fabricated directly onto a polyester textile using screen printing with silver conductive paste. Screen printing was selected for its scalability, rapid production, and compatibility. Compared to knitted and embroidered antennas, this method offers better geometric control and is easier to implement on textiles. The printed antenna conformed to standard RFID design dimensions and was produced in a single print stroke. Following fabrication, the antenna was connected to an Arduino microcontroller and paired with a passive RFID tag for performance testing. The system successfully detected the RFID tag, confirming the antenna’s functionality. Electrical measurements confirmed a sufficiently low resistance, indicating reliable conductivity for RFID communication. While further optimization is needed, these preliminary results demonstrate that screen printing is a viable technique for integrating RFID antennas into textiles. This approach offers a scalable, low-cost pathway to smart garments that are lightweight, comfortable, and suitable for real-world use, particularly in sports performance tracking and health monitoring. Future work will focus on enhancing antenna durability and evaluating long-term performance under, for example, repeated bending, washing, and wear. Acknowledgements The COMET project DiMo-NEXT is funded by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI), the Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism (BMWET), and the provinces of Salzburg, Upper Austria, and Tyrol within the framework of COMET – Competence Centres for Excellent Technologies. COMET is processed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).  

E-textiles are rapidly emerging as an important area of electronic circuit applications. It also facilitates many socially important applications such as personalized health, elderly care, and smart agriculture. However, the environmental impact and sustainability of e-textiles remain very problematic. STELEC, short for Sustainable Textile ELECtronics, is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the Pathfinder programme on the responsible elec-tronics topic seeking cutting-edge innovation. STELEC started in September 2024 and is in its initial stage. The project is a multinational collaboration of research institutes, universities and companies across Europe. It aims at developing next-generation textile-based electronics in applications from sensing, processing to AI, with a commitment to full lifecycle sustainability.

Conventional textile dyeing and finishing as well as functionalization processes are characterized by large scale production runs and typically utilize large quantities of water, energy and chemicals, making them less suitable for the production of functional and smart textiles. There is a need to introduce novel flexible, resource effective textile functionalization processes thereby avoiding unnecessary use of water, energy, chemicals and minimization of waste.

Research at the research group Textile Material Technology at the University of Borås focuses on the development of advanced functional and smart materials using novel, resource-effective processes to produce such materials in an effective and efficient way.

Examples of such technologies in the TMT group are:

• Digital printing
• Inkjet for functional and smart textiles
• 3D printing
• Valvejet (Chromojet)
• Supercritical CO2 (liquid CO2)
• Spray technology
• UV curing
• Plasma
• Catalysis and Biocatalysis

It is a very multidisciplinary domain were e.g. interface and surface science, (bio)catalysis, chemistry, biotechnology, digital technologies (inkjet, valvejet and 3D printing), 3D body scanning, coating, printing, dyeing, and nanotechnology meet.