Durable Hydrophilic Modification of Wool Scales with Reactive Surfactants in Saturated Neutral Salt System

In this study, a new reactive surfactant was synthesized from cyanuric chloride and Jeffamine ED-600 or ED-2003, and then applied to the pre-reduced wool fabric in saturated neutral salt solution at low temperature. This treatment condition inhibited the wool swelling, making the surfactant mainly covalently bond on the scales of wool. The structure of surfactant was confirmed by C-13 NMR, and the modified wool fabrics were characterized by FTIR-ATR, XPS, and SEM after carefully washing with acetone and water. The wettability, liquid transport ability, antistatic and mechanical properties of the modified wool fabrics were also investigated. The results suggested that this modification method could significantly improve the hydrophilicity of wool surface, enhance the transport ability of liquid through the fabric and increase the antistatic properties of the fabric under low humidity conditions. Importantly, the modified fabric has robust washing fastness, with no serious damage to wool.