ON THE TWO-STEP WASH AND WEAR FINISHING OF COTTON FABRICS WITH DIEPOXY COMPOUNDS

Abstract

Two-step wash and wear finishing of cotton fabrics with diepoxy compounds was investigated. Cotton fabrics were padded with diepoxy compounds and cured under dry conditions in the presence of acidic catalysts (first treatment) and recured under wet conditions in the presence of alkali catalysts by the timing or steaming method (second treatment). The diepoxy compounds studied were as follows.(1) Diepoxy compounds soluble in water: diglycidyl ether (Epoxide I), glycerin diglycidyl ether (Epoxide III), polyethylene diglycidyl ether (Epoxide VI).(2) Diepoxy compounds insoluble in water: ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (Epoxide II), butanediol diglycidyl ether (Epoxide IV), vinylcyclohexane dioxide (Epoxide VII).Both wet and dry crease recovery angles increased after the second treatment; the steaming method was more effective than the timing method. The high wet crease recovery angles obtained by the second wet curing were durable to repeated laundering. The diepoxy compounds soluble in water were more effective in the crease resistant finishing. The smaller the molecular weight of the diepoxy compounds, the more the improvement of the crease recovery angles. The tearing strength decreased by the second curing, the decrease was smaller however, than that by the first curing.Combination of Epoxide III and conventional cyclic urea derivatives for the two-step treatment was investigated. It was found that dimethyloldihyroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) was the most effective coreactant.Ten unsymmetrical sodium-4, 4′-bis-(substituted, 1, 3, 5-triazyl-6)-diaminostilbenedisulfonate 2, 2′ synthesized in the laboratory were compared with a commercial symmetrical whitening agent. The whitening agent was best applied on cotton before the padding of diepoxy compounds.Shirts were made from the cotton fabrics prepared by the two-step Epoxide treatment andthe wearing test was performed for 60 days and 30 launderings.