Abstract
W & W finishing of cotton fabrics with various bis-epoxy compounds in the presence of acidic catalysts by the conventional pad-dry-cure technique was investigated in detail. Epoxy compounds studied were diglycidyl ether (Epoxide I), ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (Epoxide II), glycerin diglycidyl ether (Epoxide III), butanediol diglycidyl ether(Epoxide IV), diethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (Epoxide V), polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (Epoxide VI), and vinylcyclohexene dioxide (Epoxide VII). The effectiveness of the epoxy compounds and catalysts to improve dry and wet wrinkle recovery angles were in the order, Epoxide I> Epoxide III> Epoxide VI> Epoxide II> Epoxide IV> Epoxide VII, and in the order, Mg (BF4)2> Zn (BF4)2> Mg (ClO4)2> A12 (SO4)3, respectively. Highly effective Epoxide I, Epoxide II and Epoxide VI are all soluble in water, while others are hydrophobic. The tearing strength decreased with increasing the wrinkle recovery angle. When the impregnated fabric was cured at temperatures lower than 100°C, high wet wrinkle recovery angle with improved retention of the tearing strength was realized.
Epoxide-treatment with conventional resins was also investigated. When Epoxide III was used with dimethyloldihydroxyethleneurea (DMDHEU), the chlorine damage associated with DMDHEU was eliminated.
