Investigations into the Anti-Felting Properties of Sputtered Wool Using Plasma Treatment

In this research the effects of mordant and plasma sputtering treatments on the crystallinity and morphological properties of wool fabrics were investigated. The felting behavior of the treated samples was also studied. We used madder as a natural dye and copper sulfate as a metal mordant. We also used copper as the electrode material in a DC magnetron plasma sputtering device. The anti-felting properties of the wool samples before and after dying was studied, and it was shown that the shrink resistance and anti-felting behavior of the wool had been significantly improved by the plasma sputtering treatment. In addition, the percentage of crystallinity and the size of the crystals were investigated using an X-ray diffractometer, and a scanning electron microscope was used for morphological analysis. The amount of copper particles on the surface of the mordanted and sputtered fabrics was studied using the energy dispersive X- ray （EDX） method, and the hydrophobic properties of the samples were examined using the water drop test. The results show that with plasma sputtering treatment, the hydrophobic properties of the surface of wool become super hydrophobic.

Preparation of Hydrophilic and Shrink-Proofing Wool Fabrics Through Thiol-Ene Click Chemistry Reaction

To improve shrink-proofing performance and hydrophilicity of wool fabrics, the wool fibers were modified by poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate(PEGDMA) through thiol-ene click chemistry reaction. Firstly, wool fabrics were reduced at room temperature with a high-efficiency disulfide bond reducing agent, tris(2-carbonxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride(TCEP). Then the thiol-ene click chemistry reaction was initiated by dimethyl 2, 2’-azobis(2-methylpropionate)(AIBME) through the heating method. Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy test results all showed that PEGDMA was successfully grafted onto wool fabric surface. Physical properties, hydrophilicity, and shrink-proofing performance were assessed. The wetting time of PEGDMA grafted wool fabrics decreased to about 3 s. After being grafted with PEGDMA, the felting shrinkage of wool fabrics rapidly decreased to about 8%. The anti-pilling properties of wool fabrics were also greatly improved to 5 class after 2 000 times of friction. Meanwhile, the load retention rate of fabrics could reach 90%. It provides a method of wool modification to improve hydrophilicity and anti-felting performance.