Abstract:

In order to realize efficient antibacterial performance of cotton fabrics, clotrimazole, used as antibacterial agent was grafted onto cotton fibers by antibacterial finishing, and the effect of pad-dry-cure, electron beam irradiation, together with plasma pretreatment on antibacterial properties of cotton fabrics was demonstrated. The optimum condition of electron-beam irradiation was investigated by orthogonal experiments, which included such factors as the concentration of finishing agent, soaking time and irradiation dose. The electron-beam irradiation processing could be optimized under the condition of concentration of finishing agent of 15%, soaking time of 60 min and irradiation dose of 65 kGy. In addition, a series of standard tests were carried out on cotton fabrics finished by pad-dry-cure (PDC) processing, electron beam irradiation (EB) processing and electron beam irradiation processing based on plasma pretreatment (P-EB), including observation of surface morphology, Infrared spectra characterization, antibacterial performance as well as fastness to washing, breaking strength and whiteness. The results show that clotrimazole is successfully grafted onto cotton fabrics finished by all three finishing processes mentioned above. Peculiarly, the antibacterial activity of cotton fabrics finished by P-EB is the most optimized, on account of the finished cotton fabrics’ perfect fastness to washing and its breaking strength and whiteness conforming to apparel fabric standards.

Key words: cotton fabric, antibacterial finishing, pad-dry-cure, electron-beam irradiation, plasma pretreatment