Wet‐driven shape‐memory behaviors and thermal adaptability of cotton knitted fabrics containing crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) moieties

Abstract

ABSTRACTCotton knitted fabrics were treated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in the presence of polyhydric alcohol etherified dimethylol dihydroxy ethylene urea as the crosslinker and magnesium chloride hexahydrate as the catalyst. In wet–dry cycles, the fabrics treated with 30% PEG1500 in the presence of 15% crosslinker and 3% catalyst showed obvious wet‐driven shape‐memory behaviors in terms of a 12% shrinkage rate in the wet state and a 80% shrinkage‐recovery rate in the dry state. The results of weight gain, morphological structures, Fourier transform infrared spectra, and X‐ray diffraction pattern tests confirmed PEG deposits on the surface of the treated fabrics, demonstrated the crosslinking of cotton cellulose with PEG and crosslinker, and also explained the wet‐driven shape‐memory mechanism. The results from differential scanning calorimetry show that the treated fabrics with wet‐driven shape‐memory behaviors had a phase‐change enthalpy and heat‐storage capacity. The crosslinking of cotton cellulose with PEG had a strong influence on the mechanical performance and air permeability of the cotton knitted fabrics. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43473.