Effect of silica nanoparticles and BTCA on physical properties of cotton fabrics

Gobi Nallathambi,Thangavelu Ramachandran,Rajagoundar Palanivelu,Venkatachalam Rajendran

doi:10.1590/s1516-14392011005000086

Abstract

Silica nanoparticles particles were synthesized from rice hulls and characterized. The particles were found to be amorphous in nature, ranging in size from 50 to 100 nm. The concentration of silica nanoparticles, pH and curing time were taken as independent variables to design the experiment. Box-Behnken method has been used to derive the experimental plan and fifteen experiments were conducted. Regression equations have been formed with the dependent and independent variables and the results of all possible combinations have been derived. The combination of optimized concentration of BTCA and SHP were used as crosslinking agent and catalyst respectively and silica nano particles were used to enhance the physical properties of the cotton fabric. The effect of pH and curing time on physical properties were analysed by FTIR studies. By ranking method the best combination of process parameters were identified. From this study, it was observed that higher concentration of silica nanoparticles with BTCA improve the crease recovery angle and tensile strength. FTIR studies revealed that the increase of pH and curing time increases the ester carbonyl band intensity ratio.

Highlights

Finishing is a process step to add value to the textile product
The silica nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal degradation method from natural resource such as rice hull and the particles are amorphous in nature with the size of 50 to 100 nm
Silica nanoparticles particles along with optimized concentration of butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) of 6.5% as a cross linking agent and optimized concentration of SHP of 4.5% as a catalyst were applied on the cotton fabric as per the experimental plan

Summary

Introduction

Finishing is a process step to add value to the textile product. It is classified into two categories such as physical finishes and chemical finishes. Nanotechnology has the potential to create new bulk materials with new bulk properties in textile coating and finishing[2]. Nano particles can provide high durability for fabrics, because of its larger surface area-to-volume ratio and high surface energy. These can present better affinity for fabrics and leading to an increase in durability without affecting their breathability or hand feel[3,4,5]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion