Abstract
The main objective of the research work is to:
- Compare the wrinkle resistant behavior of silk treated with conventional and formaldehyde free chemicals.
- Understand the chemistry behind the action of new crease resistant finishing agents
- Suggest an optimized process for effective wrinkle free finishing of silk fabrics by considering ecology and economy.
Introduction
Silk fabrics have low wet and dry resiliency. Hence thefabrics wrinkle easily during home laundering or when wet. To improve theseperformance properties, silk fabrics are given chemical treatment known asdurable press finishing. Durable press chemical finishes applied to silkfabrics in the presence of appropriate catalyst impart wrinkle resistance andsmooth drying properties.
The release of formaldehyde vapors is another problem withthose agents. The most likely used cross linking agents in crease resistantfinishes have been N-Methylol agents or N-Methyl amides because of theirefficiency and low price. Formaldehyde free cross linking agents for producingcrease resistant properties are of interest to replace N-methylol compounds forcrease resistant finishes. Polycarboxylic acids which are non formaldehydereactants are possible replacement for conventional finishing reactants. Themain advantage of polycaboxylic acids is that they are formaldehyde free, donot have bad odour, and produce very soft fabric hand.
Based on the above premise, an attempt has been made to tryand assess the effect of polycarboxylic acids on silk with respect to itscrease resistance behavior.
About the Authors
M.Parthiban is associated with Faculty of Fashion Technology in PSG College ofTechnology, Coimbatore and M. Ramesh Kumar is with Faculty of TextileTechnology, SSM College of Engineering, Komarapalayam, India.
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