Effect of Nanoparticle Finishing onto Color Matching of Textile Fabrics

Chemical finishing procedures are widely used to improve the properties of natural and synthetic fibers and fabrics. For this purpose, textile materials are treated with different functional finishes, such as repellent, durable press, soil-release, flame retardant, antistatic, and antimicrobial. Water repellent finishing on fabrics is mostly imparted by the incorporation of low surface energy compounds, accompanied by the increase of the contact angle of liquids on its surface. Recent approaches are based on the use of nanoparticles such as highly branched 3D surface functional macromolecules called dendrimers to enhance water repellency. In this study the effect of particle size on surface roughness and color assessment after treatment of cotton/polyester fabrics were evaluated. For this purpose, three types of commercially available reagents (dendrimer water repellent, fluorocarbon included dendrimer water-oil repellent and fluorocarbon water-oil repellent) were compared, for two kinds of disperse dyes. Moreover, water and oil repellency performances were measured as well as mechanical properties. Reflectance, color coordinates and absorbance curves of treated and untreated samples were then measured, allowing to fully understand the color changes due to the different finish and disperse dye combination.