Silicon-compound coating for preparation of water repellent cotton fabric by admicellar polymerization

Admicellar polymerization of two silicon compounds, methacryloxymethyltrimethylsilane (MSi) and methacryloxypropylpentamethyldisiloxane (MDSi) was investigated using two silicone surfactants, a nonionic and a cationic. Adsorption of the cationic surfactant on cotton was found to be higher than that of the nonionic surfactant. The polymer film on the surface was characterized by SEM, FTIR and XPS and the results showed that a thin polymer coating was successfully formed. The treated fabrics showed good water repellency as determined by contact angle measurement and the MSi-treated cotton showed better water repellency than the MDSi-treated cotton in terms of wetting time.