NANO FINISHES ON ERI SILK AND ITS UNION FABRICS
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Date
2019-07
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Abstract
Nano science and nanotechnology are considered to be the key technology for the recent era. The “nano” in nano technology refers to the material or chemical with a particle size of one billionth of meter. In textiles & apparel product nanotechnology can be used to provide performance characteristic like water repellant, fire retardant, UVresistance, stain resistance etc.Nano finishing of fabrics with different nano particles made the fibers to achieved desirable hand, surface texture, color and other special aesthetic and functional properties.Water-repellent means not easily penetrated by water. Water repellent is a state characterized by the non-spreading of water globules on a textile material. Fabric flammability is an important textile issue. The goal of flame retardancy is to inhibit or suppress the combustion process acting chemically or physically in the solid, liquid or gas phases. Eri silk fiber, yarn and fabric are the most unexplored, underutilized sector in textile industry and tremendous scope for application of nano finishes with different functional and aesthetic end uses. Australian merino wool produces a yarn of good quality. Preparation of union fabric from wool with eri silk had reduced maintenance cost and more productivity in the subsequent processes, cost effective too.Union fabrics used for better serviceability of fabrics but are also used for improved appearance and hand. Surface modification through nanotechnology was used to impart unique properties to fibers and fabrics. Nano-finishing has been done on different fibers like cotton, polyester, and other blended fibers for different functional end uses. However, no research on the properties of apparel and ability for eri silk fabrics and its union fabrics after being treated with flame retardant and water repellency has been reported in the literature Therefore, an attempt was made and studied on “Nano Finishes of Eri Silk and Its Union Fabric” with the following objectives-Selection of suitable chemicals for fire retardant and water repellent finishes; Optimization of finishing methods for fire retardant and water repellent finishes and assessment of physico- chemical and functional properties of finished fabrics.For water repellant and fire retardant nano finishing the plain weave eri silk and union fabric woven from eri silk and wool yarn were selected. The nano silica particle from rice husk, titanium dioxide was selected for water repellant nano finish. For fire retardant nano finishing the nano clay and ammonium sulphamate were selected purposively. The nano particle from selected sources was applied in eri silk and union fabrics for water repellant and fire retardancy with and without polymer. For that, the optimization of application process was carried out where, different pH, concentrations of nano particles, material to
liquor ration and application methods were optimized on the basis of drop test and 45° Inclined flammability test . The optimized condition for nano finishing on selected fabrics were done and evaluated for its physico-chemical and mechanical properties by using standard methods. The properties like fabric count, thickness, crease recovery bending length, tensile strength, elongation, stress, drapability, air permeability, wicking heights etc were accessed. The analytical properties like drop test, spray test, optical contact angle, were done for water repellency test and 45° inclined, Flammability test & limiting oxygen index was done for fire retardancy test. Apart from that particle size analysis, SEM, EDS etc was also carried out. The particles size analyzer confirmed that the chemical and natural sources that used for imparting nano finish in eri silk and union fabrics are nano in size which is less than 10000nm. From the study it was found that by using the optimized conditions for nano finishing of eri silk and its union fabric for functional finish with nano silica, titanium dioxide, nano clay and ammonium sulphamate with and without polymer the water repellency and fire retardancy properties have been successfully achieved. From SEM, it was found that the nanoparticles are penetrate uniformly inside in the fibers matrix and form a thin film on the surface of the fabrics leading to water repellency and fire retardancy of the treated fabrics and the EDS also confirmed the presence of nano particles elements are present in the treated fabric. For water repellency, the different standard tests are performed. Under drop test, it was observed that fabrics treated nano silica and titanium dioxide along with silicon polymer are more water repellant than without polymer. This was affirmed by optical contact angle showing above 150° means providing super hydrophobic fabric at higher percentage of nano particles, however it was also found that all the selected concentration showed hydrophobicity with water contact angle above 100° of contact angle. But after dry cleaning & washing the water repellency decreased to some extent but still at higher concentration, the water repellency was retained with contact angle above 100 degree. It was interesting to note that after abrasion the water repellency enhanced though some amount of distortion in fabric surface was observed. The enhancing in the water repellency may be attributed due to deposition of nano particles in the fabric surface forming a layer and inhibiting the water to penetrate. Other factors like weave structure, yarn twist and density also affecting the water repellency properties. The fire retardancy property of eri silk and union fabrics treated with optimized conditions for nano finishing with nano clay and ammonium sulphamate was carried out and the treated fabrics are evaluated for fire retardancy properties through 45° inclined flammability test & limiting oxygen index test. The char length and flame speed of treated samples were recorded and found that the control fabric burn entire length and
the nano finished fabric took more flame speed to burn and the char length was found to be very less when expose to flame and also lesser than the fire retardant classified class I. II and III. The flame speed was also recorded very less compared to control fabric, self extinguishing property was observed and no afterglow was recorded after burning. Hence, the nano finished fabric with nano clay and ammonium sulphamate produced fire retardant fabrics. Through SEM and EDS, it was observed that the nano particles adhered in the fabric uniformly and forming a thin film of the surface of the fabric thereby prohibiting the fire to catch easily by the fabric. The LOI test also showed that the fire retardancy property was achieved successfully. All the treated fabric showed the good fire retardancy property. But at the higher percentage of nano particles concentration showed excellent flame retardancy with LOI value 28<LOI<100 with self extinguishing properties. The eri silk and union fabric treated with nano clay, ammonium sulphamate along with sodium poly acrylate polymer showed more flame retardancy property than without polymer. The atomic absorption spectroscopy analysis also confirmed the absorption of silica, titanium, silicone, sulphur in the treated fabrics and ensured the deposition and entanglement of nano particles are made appropriately. Textile with improved properties was created via a process called nano-finishing. The nano finishing technology development from this study can be commercialized and used for textile & apparel industry. The physical, chemical and functional properties analyses were carried out and results showed the positive trend in its property without much affecting the quality. From this study, it was found that, the nano silica with 5% & 7.5 %, 1.0 % of titanium dioxide, 2.5 % nano clay and 7.5% ammonium sulphamate along with and without polymer showed the best water repellency and fire retardant nano finishes on eri silk and its union fabric. The hydrophobic fabric surfaces were successfully prepared by treating nanoparticles with and without polymers in eri silk and union fabrics. Silica and TiO2 nano particles are promising materials for functionalization of fibers and textiles because of their outstanding properties obtained from their nano size and extremely high specific surface made them as most useful additives to provide functional properties to fibers and textiles as well as suitable for industrial application. And the fire retardancy was also successfully achieved on eri silk and union fabrics. Based upon the above facts, it could be concluded that the developed water repellent and fire retardant nano finishes on eri silk fabric could find applications in domestic and industrial textiles.