The effect of synthetic silica particles, urethane resin and Fluorocarbon on the water/oil repellency of cotton

This research focuses on the effect of synchronous and asynchronous apply of cross linking agents (CERESOL CPN and DMDHEU (N, N'-dimethylol-4, 5-dihydroxyethylene urea)) and Fluorocarbon (FOBUGARD AF300) on the repellency of the cotton fabric. Then the effect of silica particles on the repellency and durability of the samples was investigated. Silica particles were synthesized with TEOS (Tetraethyl orthosilicate), ethanol and ammonium hydroxide as catalyst which controls particle size of the silica and applied on the samples. Silica particles increase the roughness of the fabric surface and affect water/oil repellency. The optimum values are 6% of CPN and 8% of FOBUGARD AF300 provide oil and water repellency values 6 and 9 respectively. The FESEM and EDX were used for the assessment of morphological properties, size distribution and elemental analysis of fluorocarbon/silica particles coated fabric. Non-synchronous application of crosslinking agent and fluorocarbon resin improves the repellency of the samples. Also, silica particles enhance the durability of the treatment. So that after 5 cycles of washing and heat treatment of samples containing 1% of the synthesized silica particles, the values 6 and 9 were obtained for oil and water repellency, respectively.