Cotton fabrics are treated with cellulolytic enzyme preparations to alter the appearance of their surfaces. Desired objectives can be to effect a washed appearance in denims. to impart a smooth appearance by removing surface fuzz fibers, or to remove tangled bundles of surface fibers that do not pick up dyes and thus result in white specks. Such treatments are very mild and have been commercially successful. This study elucidates the effect such treatments have on the molecular, supramolecular, and morphological structures of cotton cellulose. Desized, scoured, and bleached cotton fabric is treated with a commercial textile cellulase preparation for 10, 60, and 180 minutes at 50°C in a 0.05 M (pH 4.8) acetate buffer in stainless steel canisters in the presence of stainless steel ball bearings. Changes are reported in fabric weight, fabric strength, fiber cell walls. moisture regain, cellulose molecular weight distribution, fiber pore size distribution, and cellulose micro structure as revealed by hydrogen bonding patterns.
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