Title
Exploring continuous grafting of acrylic acid onto cotton fabric
Authors
JAVED SHEIKH and M. D. TELI

Received September 6, 2015
Published Volume 51 Issue 9-10 September-December
Keywords cotton, acrylic acid, continuous grafting, cationic dyeing

Abstract
Graft copolymerization is generally carried out by the exhaust method, which is a batch process with limitations in its application. In the current study, acrylic acid was grafted onto cotton fabric using potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator, employing different padding techniques in order to explore the potential to make this operation continuous. The graft copolymerization parameters for the padding techniques were optimized in terms of temperature, time and concentration of initiator and monomer. The grafted product was characterized using FTIR, TGA and SEM, and further evaluated regarding properties such as moisture regain and yellowness index. The unmodified and grafted fabrics were then dyed using cationic dyes. Promising results were obtained, indicating the suitability of the pad-cure technique for such a modification as part of continuous operation, especially for lower levels of graft add-on with higher efficiency of the process. The grafted material showed improved dyeability towards cationic dyes with enhanced fastness properties, confirming the attachment of cationic dyes to the grafted cotton by ionic bonding.