The cationization of cotton/polyester blend

Abstract

Cotton cellulose can be cationized with amines and quaternary ammonium compounds in alkaline medium to change fiber surface charge. Such modified cotton adsorbs anionic dyes and auxiliaries due to attractive forces between fiber and compound. Due to crystallinity of polyester fiber, its adsorption is low. Polyester is usually modified by alkaline hydrolysis with cationic compounds as accelerators. For all these reasons, in this paper, the cationization of cotton/polyester blended fabrics was performed. The change of fabric was studied through interface phenomena – zeta potential, moisture management and adsorption of anionic optical brightener. Zeta potential confirmed that the surface charge has been changed. Cationization led to better adsorption of optical brightener and higher capillarity of fabrics.