Water and Oil Repellent Finishing of Textiles by UV Curing: Evaluation of the Influence of Scaled-Up Process Parameters

Franco Ferrero, Monica Periolatto, Lorenzo Tempestini
2017 Coatings  
In this work, various textile fabrics were coated with silicone and fluorocarbon-based resins by photo-curing using ultraviolet irradiation. A great number of large fabric samples were impregnated by padding with commercial finishing agents and then irradiated in air with a high power, semi-industrial UV source. The add-on of various finishing agents was kept low to reduce the treatment cost. White and dyed samples of different textile composition were treated and evaluated in terms of
more » ... repellency, yellowing, or color changes. Most relevant process parameters were investigated, utilizing the thermal process normally adopted at industrial level as reference. The results were statistically evaluated by ANOVA using Minitab 16 software, in order to identify the most influential parameters and to evaluate the real possibility of replacing the thermal treatment with UV curing. Coatings 2017, 7, 60 2 of 12 may be initiated [3, 4] . Moreover, when UV irradiation is applied, high concentrations of active species can be produced locally at the interface between a textile fiber and the monomer solution containing the photoinitiator, with the consequence of a high yield for the process. The mechanism of UV-initiated polymeric grafting and the grafting process are shown in Figures 1 and 2 , respectively.
doi:10.3390/coatings7050060 fatcat:5kvc2iinfjavhd2rtgplqgna64