Arunee Kongdee

Cellulose - Protein Textiles: Utilisation of Sericin in Textile Finishing

Sericin was used for cotton textile finishing in pad-dry-cure process. By means of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy-Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR), fixation reactions of sericin on fabric surface were investigated. Estimation of sericin extent on fabric surface was performed using Supranolechtbordeaux B acid dye. The greater K/S values were observed for the samples treated with greater concentrations of sericin in finishing solutions. Variations in amount of sericin on fabric surface affected free formaldehyde content, crease recovery angle and water retention properties. With increase in concentration of sericin, free formaldehyde content and electrical resistivity of the samples decreased while crease recovery angle insignificantly increased with certain amount of sericin. The textile treated with sericin shows good wear properties and the finishing process is considered as a technique for protein fixation on the surface of cellulose textiles.