Abstract
A cotton/polyester blend is radiation-grafted with a copolymer (allylamine + acrylic acid) to varied add-ons at different doses of Co-60 gamma rays. The amphoteric character imparted to this radiation-chemically-treated blend is due to the fixation of carboxyl and amino groups on the polyester and cotton cellulose chains by a radiation-induced free-radical mechanism. The treated blend acquires new remarkable dyeing affinity towards basic and acid dyes, to which originally both the untreated blend components have no affinity. Hence, dyeing the blend with a single dye, to a desirable solid color, by a one-bath process is feasible. Moreover, an additional improvement in the wrinkle-resistance performance of the treated blended fabrics is recorded, due to the formation of crosslinks between the components chains, accompanied by a significant increase in tensile strength and elongation-at-break.
Parameters investigated during this work are radiation dose (0.2–1.6 Mrad for 1/2 to 4 h), composition of treating monomer solutions, effect of pH, and role of neutralizing acids. Textile evaluations reported are visual dyeing affinity, crease-recovery, tensile strength, and elongation-at-break.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.