New insight into compressive shrinkage finishing in a garment company: The effects on physical,mechanical and colorimetric properties of cotton woven fabrics

Compressive shrinkage or compressive shrinkage finishing is one of the most important finishing procedures in the textile industry to improve the dimensional stability of cotton fabrics. Study of the physical and mechanical properties of compressive shrinkage finished fabrics could be useful for optimizing the treatment conditions. This research was carried out in a production line of a recognized garment company on cotton woven fabrics with two different woven patterns (twill and plain). The samples were first dyed with reactive and sulfur dyes in a jigger dyeing machine and finished with a silicone softener. The dried fabrics were then processed in a compressive shrinkage machine. Several physical and mechanical properties of the samples were evaluated including area shrinkage, crimp percentage, thickness, abrasion resistance, drapeability, mechanical and colorimetric properties. The results showed that the thickness of all treated samples increased due to compressive shrinkage. The fabrics were analyzed with a Martindale Abrasion Tester to determine the abrasion resistance. Interestingly, we noted an increase in the abrasion resistance. After the compressive shrinkage process, the strength of the plain woven fabrics decreased in the warp direction, but increased for twill woven cotton fabrics. On the contrary, the strength of all samples increased in the weft direction. Colorimetric evaluation of the samples showed that the effect of compressive shrinkage on the color of all samples was negligible.     

Crosslinking phenolic compounds with cotton fabrics using succinic acid to develop functional clothing materials

There is currently much interest in natural compounds as bioactive functional components to replace synthetic functional agents in many industrial fields. This trend has also arisen in the textile industry. Phenolic compounds, existing in many fruits and vegetables, are a well-known group of secondary metabolites with a wide range of pharmacological activities. Thus, they have been attracting attention as part of the effort to realize environmentally friendly functional agents for textile finishing. In current research, cotton fabrics were treated with several phenolic compounds to transpose their beneficial characteristics onto clothing material. In particular, the treatment was conducted in two steps; the first to incorporate a crosslinker onto cotton cellulose, and the second to bond the phenolic compound to the crosslinker already anchored onto the cotton fabrics. A more efficient textile treatment was expected after employing the two-step process. After the finishing process, the cotton fabrics treated with phenolic compounds were investigated by FT-IR, SEM, an antibacterial test, and an antioxidant test. It was discovered that cotton fabrics treated with the two-step process showed >99.9 % of antibacterial ability and >80 % of antioxidant ability, even at lower concentrations of the crosslinker and phenolic compounds compared to those in earlier work.     

Modelling tearing behavior of durable press finished woven fabric

Tearing strength is one of the most important and critical properties related to durable press finished cotton woven fabric. In the past, modelling of tearing strength of cotton woven fabrics was based on untreated cotton woven fabric but not in durable pressed finished fabric. In this paper, a mathematical model was established to demonstrate the tearing strength mechanism of durable press finished cotton woven fabrics by dimensional analysis based on yarn diameter, cover factor, Young’s modulus and fabric elongation. The proposed model agreed well with experimental results and the proposed model can be used for optimizing durable press finishing process of cotton woven fabric.     

Improving Application Performance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis> Polymerization and Crosslinking System of Maleic Acid/Itaconic Acid for Cotton Fabric

Maleic acid (MA) and itaconic acid (IA) used as crosslinking agents for cotton fabrics are more cost-effective than the most efficient nonformaldehyde crosslinker 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), but poor stability of finishing bath and fabric yellowing are the main disadvantage of MA/IA in situ polymerization and crosslinking system. In this research, the application performance improvement of MA/IA crosslinking system for cotton fabrics was studied. Replacement of the widely used sodium hypophosphite (SHP) with potassium hypophosphite (PHP) as catalyst allowed for obtaining a stable finishing bath under ambient temperature and led to improved final durable press (DP) performance of the treated fabrics. The influences of PHP concentration, curing temperature, and curing time on the performance of finished fabrics were investigated. Cotton fabrics treated by MA/IA/PHP crosslinking system exhibited comparable DP performance and laundering durability to that finished with BTCA. To address the fabric yellowing problem, the residual MA and IA attached on the treated fabrics by single-ended ester linkage was determined by HPLC. The data indicated that the degree of fabric yellowing was linearly related to the unpolymerized carboxylic acid MA and IA concentration on the treated fabrics. Several approaches were explored to improve the whiteness of MA/IA/PHP crosslinked fabrics. It was found that steam drying with 30-50 % humidity could effectively improve fabric whiteness. The findings of this study have significant implications for better application of unsaturated polycarboxylic acids in crosslinking of cellulose.     

N-halamine-bonded cotton fabric with antimicrobial and easy-care properties

N-halamine precursor 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidinol (TMP), a hindered amine light stabilizer, was bonded onto cotton fabric by using 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) as a crosslinking agent. A variety of treating conditions including TMP concentration, curing temperature and time, and catalyst were studied. The treated fabrics were characterized using FTIR spectra and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The cotton fabric treated with TMP precursor could be rendered biocidal upon exposure to dilute household bleach. The chlorinated cotton swatches showed great efficacy and inactivated 100 % of Staphylococcus aureus with 7.1 log reduction with 5 min of contact and 83.25 % of E. coli O157:H7 at 10 min of contact. In addition, the wrinkle recovery angle of the treated cotton fabrics increased from 229 ° of untreated cotton fabrics to 253 °. This study provided a practical finishing process to produce cotton fabrics with easy care and antibacterial functionalities at the same time.     

Layer by layer assembly of nanosilver for high performance cotton fabrics

High performance cellulosic fabrics are of increasing attention as a wearable fabric with special functions. The current report deals with preparation of multifunctional cotton fabrics by using simple and facile layer by layer technique. Firstly, silver nitrate was reacted with carboxymethyl cellulose to prepare Ag nanoparticles-carboxymethyl cellulose composite. Multi-layers of the so-obtained composite were applied on the cotton fabrics using pad-dry-cure method. Ag nanoparticles were deposited with mean size of 18.2 nm onto cotton fabrics which served as a cross linker between carboxymethyl cellulose macromolecules and cotton macromolecular blocks. Application of composite multilayers brought new properties for the finished cloths such like coloration, ultraviolet resistance, electrical resistance and biocidal action. The ultraviolet transmission radiation was significantly reduced to 7-10 % after applying ten composite layers. Valuable antibacterial textiles which are required in different medical purposes could be successfully produced, as excellent antibacterial activities were achieved by using the reported method. The developed process can be easily adapted to the existing textile machinery, making it industrially viable to produce fabric’s versatility.     

Cotton fabric mechanical properties affected by post-finishing processes

Following the work done previously [1]. In this paper, the effect of various post-finishing agents on the low stress mechanical and surface properties of dyed cotton fabrics, as well as their handle value have been studied. The mechanical properties of the treated cotton fabrics were measured by the famous KES-FB system. It has been found that cotton fabric mechanical properties and fabric handle can be modified by not only the external finishing agents but also the internal finishing agents which are used for correcting the inherent defect of the fabrics. The results in this report will inform the textile industry in engineering required fabric properties with appropriate finishing processes.     

Development of antimicrobial medical cotton fabrics using synthesized nanoemulsion of reactive cyclodextrin hosted coconut oil inclusion complex

Reactive cyclodextrin (RCD) based nanoemulsion and loaded with coconut oil in presence of Tween 80 emulsifying agent for development of antimicrobial medical cotton fabrics is the subject of current research. RCD based nanoemulsion was prepared at different stirring duration, viz, 2, 4, 6 and 24 h in presence of Tween 80. This was done in order to induce varieties in size and morphology of the nanoemulsion. The coconut oil encapsulated RCD based nanocomposite was precipitated as powder using centrifugation technique for 60 min at 4500 rpm and the resulted powder was investigated using TEM and SEM techniques. The images that provided by these techniques confirmed the nano-sized scale of the coconut oil loaded RCD nanocomposite. In addition, the entrapment efficiency of coconut oil loaded RCD based nanoemulsion after centrifugation was calculated and was found to more than 93 %; this is a proof for the successful inclusion of the coconut oil inside the cavity of RCD molecules. Moreover, the obtained RCD based nanoemulsions were applied to bleached cotton fabrics as per the pad-dry-cure method. The as treated cotton fabrics were monitored for nitrogen content, add-on, mechanical properties and morphology vis-a-vis those similarly treated fabrics but using the as prepared microemulsion of RCD loaded with coconut oil in absence of Tween 80. The morphological structure of cotton fabrics treated with the nanoemulsion in question was also examined using SEM technique. Moreover, the biological activity of the nanoemulsion finished fabrics before and after being submitted to 20 washing cycles was investigated against different types of bacteria and fungi as per the inhibition zone method. Results obtained signify: (i) deposition on the fabric of coconut oil loaded RCD nanoemulsion; (ii) the add-on of the nanoemulsion on the surface of cotton fabric is a manifestation of the stirring duration, proofing the formation of ultrafine oil nanoemulsion which penetrates the fabric surface; (iii) the finished fabrics display antimicrobial activity with clear excellent inhibition zone even after 20 washing cycles, indicating the protection of these fabrics for human beings from harmful microbes. In conclusion, the cotton fabrics treated with nanoemulsion of RCD loaded coconut oil is considered as an effective super antimicrobial medical textile against pathogenic microorganisms of both bacteria and fungus species.     

Water and oil-repellent coatings of perfluoro-polyacrylate resins on cotton fibers: UV curing in comparison with thermal polymerization

UV curing of perfluoro-alkyl-polyacrylate resins able to impart water as well as oil-repellency to cotton fabrics was studied in comparison with conventional thermal polymerization. The process was assessed through weight gain and gel content measurements while the properties conferred to cotton fabrics were determined in terms of water and oil contact angles, moisture adsorption, and water vapor permeability. The polymerization yields were of the same order (>80 %) of those obtained with thermal curing as well as the high contact angles with water (>127°) and oil (>118°) even at low resin add-on (3 %). UV cured resins yielded oil contact angles mostly higher than 120° denoting super oil-repellent surfaces. Moreover the water and oil-repellency was adequately maintained after washing. The moisture adsorption of finished fabrics was lower than that of untreated cotton, but slightly higher for UV cured than thermally treated fabrics. Water vapor transmission rate showed that the finish treatment, thermal as well as by UV curing, does not reduce the breathability of the original cotton. DSC analysis demonstrated that the fiber pyrolysis is affected by the polymer add-on, while FTIR-ATR spectra of all finished fabrics showed typical peaks of ester and C-F groups. XPS analysis showed small differences between thermal and UV curing coatings with each resin, while coatings with the lowest percentage of fluorine groups did not affect the water and oil-repellency.     

Synergistic UV-curable flame-retardant finish of cotton using comonomers of vinylphosphonic acid and acrylamide

While ‘Pyrovatex’ and’ Proban’ processes have been widely used for durable flame-retardant finishing of cotton, the flame retardants could release formaldehyde inevitably during or even after the finishing process, which is not environmentally compatible. As a new formaldehyde-free flame retardant and finishing process, the comonomers of vinylphosphonic acid (VPA) and acrylamide (AAm) can be in situ copolymerized upon LED-UV irradiation and impart excellent flame retardancy to the cotton. The increasing AAm addition enhanced fixation, flame retardancy effectivity and synergistic effectiveness by reducing the steric hindrance between the VPA monomers during the copolymerization. Also the multifunctional crosslinkers of either methylene bisacrylamide or triacryloylhexahydro triazine significantly improved the laundering durability of the finished fabrics. The increased char formation and residue number after pyrolysis indicated the solid-phase retarding mechanism of the synergistic VPA and AAm combination.     

Effect of finishing treatments on heat resistance of one- and two-layered fabrics

A series of cotton knitted fabrics was produced and finished according to three different recipes in order to compare the changes of their heat resistances. The heat resistance was measured using the sweating guarded hotplate. Measurements were carried out on one layer of produced knitted fabrics, as well as on two layers of fabrics. The results indicated significant influence of all carried finishing treatments to the decrease of heat resistance of knitted fabrics. It was shown that the high influence of finishing treatment to the total heat transfer trough fabric remains if the fabric is worn with additional knitted fabric layer. The presented results and performed statistical analysis indicated significant effect of finishing treatments to the changes of fabric parameters and furthermore to the changes of heat resistance what directly affects the total thermophysiological comfort of knitwear.     

Odour control studies on apparel fabrics finished with methanol extract of Terminalia chebula

This study aimed to analyse the odour retention characteristics of different textile fibers. The commercially used textile fibers like cotton, viscose, linen, nylon, 60/40 cotton/polyester and 100 % polyester swatches were used as a sweat absorbing material in vests and T shirts. The In-vivo wear analysis was carried out with sedentary and non-sedentary workers. The worn samples were collected and subjectively analysed for the odour intensity after 24 hour storage at normal atmosphere. The subjective analysis result reveals that, highest amount odour intensity is in polyester. The intensity level in the following order: polyester>nylon>cotton/polyester>linen>viscose>cotton. Methanolic extract of Terminalia chebula was applied on the textile material to analyse the odour reduction ability. The subjective analysis results revealed that, the odour formation in the textile material reduced significantly after Terminalia chebula finishing process invariantly with fiber except nylon. To confirm the odour reduction objectively, bacterial isolation studies were performed with the treated and untreated worn samples. The results revealed that, the amount of bacterial colony in the finished textile reduced considerably than the worn untreated samples except nylon. Further, FTIR studies confirmed the reduction of odour forming short chain fatty acids in the treated worn textile than the untreated. Agar diffusion test results of finished textile, against major odour causing bacteria in axilla shows zone of inhibition up to 42 mm for all the fibers except nylon fabric. Hence, this study suggests a promising application of natural herbal finish for the odour reduction in apparels.     

Formaldehyde free cross-linking agents based on maleic anhydride copolymers

Low molecular weight copolymers of maleic anhydride and vinyl acetate were prepared to develop formaldehyde free cross-linking agents. Since lower molecular weight is favorable for efficient penetration of the finishing agent into the cotton fibers in the padding process, the concentration of the initiator, chain transfer agent and the monomer ratios were varied to obtain copolymers of low molecular weights. The prepared polymers were characterized by GPC,¹H-NMR, FTIR, DSC and TGA. Copolymers of molecular weights of 2 000 to 10 000 were obtained and it was found that the most efficient method of controlling the molecular weight was by varying the monomer ratios. Poly(maleic anhydride-co-vinyl acetate) did not dissolve in water, but the maleic anhydride residue hydrolyzed within a few minutes to form poly(maleic acid-co-vinyl acetate) and dissolved in water. However, the maleic acid units undergo dehydration to form anhydride groups on heating above 160 °C to some extent even in the absence of catalysts. The possibility of using the copolymers as durable press finishing agent for cotton fabric was investigated. Lower molecular weight poly(maleic anhydride-co-vinyl acetate) copolymers were more efficient in introducing crease resistance, which appears to be due to the more efficient penetration of the crosslinking agent into cotton fabrics. The wrinkle recovery angles of cotton fabrics treated with poly(maleic anhydride-co-vinyl acetate) copolymers were slightly lower than those treated with DMDHEU and were higher when higher curing temperatures or higher concentrations of copolymer were used, and when catalyst, NaH₂PO₂, was added. The strength retention of the poly(maleic anhydride-co-vinyl acetate) treated cotton fabrics was excellent.     

Nano-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> based multilayer film deposition on cotton fabrics for UV-protection

Nano-TiO₂ based multilayer nanocomposite films were fabricated on cationically modified woven cotton fabrics by layer-by-layer molecular self-assembly technique. Cationization process was used to obtain cationic surface charge on cotton fabrics. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were used to verify the presence of cationic surface charge and multilayer films deposited on the fabrics. Scanning electron microscope micrographs of poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate)/TiO₂, nano polyurethane/TiO₂, and TiO₂/poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) multilayer films deposited on cotton fabrics were taken. With nano-TiO₂ based multilayer film deposition, the protection of cotton fabrics against UV radiation is enhanced. The UV protection durability of the self-assembled multilayer films deposited on the cotton fabrics was analyzed after 10 and 20 washing cycles at 40 °C for 30 min. Air permeability and whiteness value analysis were performed on the untreated and multilayer film deposited cotton fabrics. The effect of layer-by-layer deposition process on tensile strength properties of the warp and weft yarns was determined.     

Preparation and properties of acryloyloxy carboxylic perfluorooctyl ester copolymer for liquid repellent finishing of cotton

Monomer of acryloyl tri(1,1,2,2-tetrahydroperfluoro-octyl) citrate (FOC) and β-acryloyloxy 1,1,2,2-tetrahydroperfluoro-octyl propionate (FOP) were successfully synthesized and copolymerized with n-butyl acrylate by continuous process emulsion copolymerization. Thermal properties of resulting fluorinated copolymers were characterized by TGA. The water and oil repellency of the polymers used as textile finishing agent on cotton fabrics were investigated, and the surface energies were calculated. The X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) measurement showed strong surface enrichment of fluorinated segments.     

Investigation on air permeability of finished stretch plain knitted fabrics. I. Predicting air permeability using artificial neural networks

Air permeability is one of the most important utility properties of textile materials as it influences air flow through textile material. Air permeability plays a significant role in well-being due to its influence on physiological comfort. The air permeability of textile materials depends on their porosity. There are a lot of structural properties of textile materials also operating parameters (knitting+finishing) influencing air permeability and there are also statistically significant interactions between the main factors influencing the air permeability of knitted fabrics made from pure yarn cotton (cellulose) and viscose (regenerated cellulose) fibers and plated knitted with elasthane (Lycra) fibers. Two types of artificial neural networks (ANNs) model have been set up before modeling procedure by utilizing multilayer feed forward neural networks, which take into account the generality and the specificity of the product families respectively. A virtual leave one out approach dealing with over fitting phenomenon and allowing the selection of the optimal neural network architecture was used. Moreover this study exhibited that air permeability could be predicted with high accuracy for stretch plain knitted fabrics treated with different finishing processes. Within the framework of the work presented, ANNs were applied to help industry to adjust the operating parameter before the actual manufacturing to reach the desired air permeability and satisfy their consumers.     

Preparation and Properties of Antistatic Polyethylene Film Coated Polypropylene Non-woven Fabrics

In this paper, antistatic PE/PP coated non-woven fabrics were prepared by the coating process of the antistatic finished PE films and PP non-woven fabrics using the heat pressing process of the hot melt adhesives. The antistatic finishing of polyethylene (PE) films and polypropylene (PP) non-woven fabrics were processed by one face foam finishing and dip-pad finishing process, respectively. The antistatic properties of PE/PP coated non-woven fabrics which were influenced by the antistatic finishing processes and the thickness of PE films were investigated. The static charges transmission mechanism of these coated non-woven fabrics was illustrated. The results revealed that the static charges were transferred and dissipated by forming the continuous conductive path and network between the film-adhesive and adhesive-fabric due to the hot melt adhesion and squeezing of the antistatic agents existing inside of of the non-woven fabrics matrix and on the film surface. The antistatic properties of coated non-woven fabrics were improved with the increasing of the antistatic agent concentration on the finishing solution. And the antistatic properties of PE films were greatly influenced by the film thickness, the thinner of PE films the much more obvious improvement of the film surface antistatic properties. The finishing process wouldn’t reduce the peeling strength of the coated non-woven fabrics. The antistatic properties of the PE/PP coated non-woven fabrics possessed high washing durability due to the crosslinking fixation effect of the hot melt adhesives which wouldn’t be weakened after several times washing.     

A novel method to analyze the moisture liberation of textile fabrics

In this paper, a purpose-built apparatus was used to analyze the moisture liberation of textile fabrics. Fabrics were wetted and placed in an air-conditioned room to test the variation of weight and surface temperature during the process of moisture liberation. Effects of textile materials and fabric structures on the velocities of moisture liberation of fabrics were analyzed; the temperature variation and its relationship with moisture regains of fabrics in the moisture liberation were also studied. Moisture liberation velocities of polyester and silk fabrics are much higher than that of wool and cotton fabrics. For the same textile materials, knitted fabrics absorbed more water and thus took longer time to liberate the water. The surface temperature of fabrics showed three stages during moisture liberation. With the decrease of moisture regain, fabric temperature decreased gradually and jumped quickly to ambient temperature. In this way we could evaluate the moisture desorption of fabrics and develop quick-drying fabrics with imporved moisture and thermal properties.     

Actinomycin X2, an Antimicrobial Depsipeptide from Marine-Derived Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus Applied as a Good Natural Dye for Silk Fabric

Actinomycins as clinical medicine have been extensively studied, while few investigations were conducted to discover the feasibility of actinomycins as antimicrobial natural dye contributing to the medical value of the functional fabrics. This study was focused on the application of actinomycin X2 (Ac.X2), a peptide pigment cultured from marine-derived Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus, in the dyeing and finishing of silk fabric. The dyeing potential of Ac.X2 with silk vs. cotton fabrics was assessed. As a result, the silk fabric exhibited greater uptake and color fastness with Ac.X2. Through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, some changes of chemical property for the dyed fabric and Ac.X2 were studied. The silk fabric dyed with Ac.X2 exhibited good UV protection ability. The antibacterial properties of dyed and finished silk were also evaluated, which exhibited over 90% antibacterial activity even after 20 washing cycles. In addition, the brine shrimp assay was conducted to evaluate the general toxicity of the tested fabric, and the results indicated that the dyed silk fabrics had a good biological safety property.     

Synthesis and Application of Polyurethane-Modified Silicone as Finishing Agent for Cotton Fabric

The polyurethane modified organic silicone (PU-SA) was successfully synthesized via step-by-step polymerization with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and polypropylene glycol (PPG) used as monomers, dibutyltindilaurate (DBTDL) as the catalyst, trimethylolpropane (TMP) and N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) as the chain extender, and amino-terminated siloxane (SA) as the blocking agent. The chemical structure of PU-SA was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that PUSA had been successfully finished on the surface. Additionally, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that the PU-SA treated fabrics showed low decomposition temperature and slightly high char residue. As a finishing agent, the effect of PU-SA on the handle of cotton fabrics was also studied by using a Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-F). The experimental results found that PU-SA had a significant improvement on the bending properties, surface properties, and compressional properties. Moreover, the mechanical and anti-wrinkle properties of the cotton fabrics were also enhanced.