Nonwovens Flash Cured with Crosslinked Polyols

Abstract

When polyols are crosslinked onto a fibrous substrate, the usual pro cedure is to affix them to fibers in a single drying and curing step. Most nonwovens immersed in polyol solutions containing a resin and an acid catalyst have wet pickups of 80-200%; they can be effectively cured at 100°C for 1-2 minutes. When a strong catalyst such as p-toluenesulfonic acid and higher temperatures are used to initiate crosslinking, these nonwoven fabrics can be flash-dried and cured in as little as 15 seconds at 175°C. The resultant fabrics have several improved functional and aesthetic properties, such as thermal activity, longer flex life, high moisture regain, and greatly reduced lint loss and pilling.