Softening finishes

Xiaoli zhang
3.1 Introduction

 With chemical softeners, textiles can

achieve an agreeable, soft hand(supple,
pliant, sleek and fluffy), some
smoothness, more flexibility and better
drape and pliability.
3.2 Mechanisms of the
softening effect
 Softeners provide their main effects on
the surface of the fibres ；
 The physical arrangement of the usual
softener molecules on the fibre surface is
important ；
 It depends on the ionic nature of the
softener molecule and the relative
hydrophobicity of the fibre surface.
3.3 Product types and their
chemistry
 The softener molecules typically contain a
long alkyl group, sometimes branched, of
more than 16 and up to 22 carbon atoms,
but most have 18 corresponding to the
stearyl residue.
 Exceptions to this molecular structure are
the special categories of silicones,
paraffins and polyethylene softeners.
 About one-third of the softeners used in
the textile industry are silicone based.
3.4.1 Cationic softeners
 Cationic softeners have the best softness and
are reasonably durable to laundering;
 provide a hydrophobic surface and poor
rewetting properties;
 usually not compatible with anionic products;
 Cationic softeners attract soil, may cause
yellowing upon exposure to high temperatures
and may adversely affect the lightfastness of
direct and reactive dyes.
 Inherent ecological disadvantages of many
conventional (unmodified) quaternary
ammonium compounds (quaternaries) are fish
toxicity and poor biodegradability.
3.4.2 Anionic softeners

 heat stable at normal textile processing

temperatures;
 compatible with other components of dye
and bleach baths;
 easily be washed off;
 provide strong antistatic effects and good
rewetting properties;
3.4.3 Amphoteric softeners

 good softening effects;

 low permanence to washing ;
 high antistatic effects (because of their
strong ionic character);
 have fewer ecological problems than
similar cationic products;
 Examples of the betaine and the amine
oxide type
3.4.4 Non-ionic softeners based
on paraffin and polyethylene
 high lubricity (reduced surface friction) ;
 not durable to dry cleaning;
 stable to extreme pH conditions and heat
at normal textile processing conditions;
 and are reasonably priced and compatible
with most textile chemicals.
3.4.5 Silicone softeners
 very high softness, special unique hand,
high lubricity, good sewability, elastic
resilience, crease recovery, abrasion
resistance and tear strength.
 show good temperature stability and
durability, with a high degree of
permanence for those products that form
crosslinked films and a range of
properties from hydrophobic to
hydrophilic.
3.7 Evaluation and testing
methods
 Important components of the sensory
perception are the smoothness,
compressibility and elasticity of the textile
sample.
 As the hand of fabrics is primarily a
subjective feeling – similar to the
impression of colour – there have been
many efforts to find methods for objective
evaluation of the fabric hand.
 Relatively simple methods to evaluate
only the bending properties of fabric (flex
rigidity) are the cantilever method and a
similar device called Softometer.
Handle-O-Meter

 The Handle-O-Meter is another method in

which different kinds of deformation have
a simultaneous effect on the sample,
resulting in a total value for the hand.
KES-F

 The most comprehensive but most

expensive method of objective hand
evaluation was developed by Kawabata
and co-workers21–23 and is called KES-
F(Kawabata Evaluation System-Fabrics).
FAST
 FAST (Fabric Assurance by Simple
Testing) is another well known system.It
was developed for quality assessment in
the wool garment industry.
 FAST is less expensive and much quicker
than the KES-F because it measures only
some aspects of the fabric hand such as
compression, bending, extension and
dimensional stability at a few given points
in a simplified form.
3.8 Particulars of and
troubleshooting for
softening
 finishes
Emulsion stability
 Softeners and thermomigration of dyes
 Reactive softeners
 Volatility
 Yellowing
 Deeper colour, darker black
 Mechanical softening