Hydrophilic modification of polyester fabric by applying nanocrystalline cellulose containing surface finish

In this study, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric was modified by applying a hydrophilic surface finishing agent that contains nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC). To impart superior hydrophilicity, NCC was further cationically modified through quaternization by grafting glycidyl tri-methyl ammonium chloride (GTMAC). A textile binder, PrintRite595®, was added to the finishing system. The surface finish was applied on the fabric using a rolling–drying–curing process. The modified fabric was characterized in terms of coating durability, moisture regain, and wettability. The durability of the surface finish was tested by six repeated washing steps. The surface properties of the fabric changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic after heat treatment with the NCC-containing surface finishing agent. The results from the washing fastness, SEM, FTIR, and EDX analyses confirmed that the cationic NCC-containing textile surface finish showed superior adhesion onto the cationic dyeable (anionic) PET surface over the un-modified NCC. Furthermore, the cationic textile surface finish was capable of withstanding multiple washing cycles.