Book excerpt: The surface of textiles offers an important platform for functional modifications in order to meet special requirements for a variety of applications. The surface modification of textiles may be achieved by various techniques ranging from traditional solution treatment to biological approaches. This book reviews fundamental issues relating to textile surfaces and their characterisation and explores the exciting opportunities for surface modification of a range of different textiles.Introductory chapters review some important surface modification techniques employed for improved functional behaviour of textiles and the various surface characterisation methods available. Further chapters examine the different types of surface modification suitable for textiles, ranging from the use of plasma treatments and physical vapour deposition to the use of nanoparticles. Concluding chapters discuss surface modification strategies for various applications of textiles.Surface modification of textiles is a valuable resource for chemists, surface scientists, textile technologists, fibre scientists, textile engineers and textile students. - Reviews fundamental issues relating to textiles surfaces and their characterisation - Examines various types of surface modification suitable for textiles, including plasma treatments and nanoparticles - Discusses surface modification strategies for textile applications such as expansion into technical textile applications