Effects of DTAC on the warmth retention of down fiber based on response surface method

The warmth retention of down is improved through grafting DTAC (dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) onto the natural fiber. The effect of DTAC concentration (A), temperature (B), and time (C) on the warmth retention was studied using the response surface method to obtain the optimal experimental formula and models. The optimum process conditions are A: 17.1 %, B: 38.91 °C, C: 61.37 min and the predicted warmth retention rate is 80.4 %. Verified by experiments, the actual result is 80.34 %, and the fitting degree is 99.92 %. The results show that the warmth retention rate of the treated down increased by 5.98 % compared to raw down. The filling power significantly increased by 21.85 %, and the graft modification had no effect on the turbidity of the down. No obvious changes were detected using SEM. This explains that the DTAC was successfully grafted onto the down fiber and the modification did not damage the down.