The effect of pheno-formaldehyde finishing on the properties of direct dyed cotton fabrics

Abstract

This paper examined the effect of catalyst concentration, curing time and temperature on a phenolformaldehyde finished direct dyed cotton. The grey cotton fabric was desized, scoured, bleached and dyed with chlorazol D, a direct dye. Sample of the dyed cotton were subjected to resin
finishing using phenol: formaldehyde. The wash fastness of direct dyed cotton was improved by treating with phenol-formaldehyde. Similarly, the effect of the parameters studied showed that the best ratio for phenol-formaldehyde was 60:40 for 3% shade and 70:30 for 1% shade. The results for the curing time indicated that 5 minutes gave the best improvement in wash fastness at curing temperature of 160oC. The catalyst concentration also improved the wash fastness and it was at its best when 2 g/l was used. It could be deduced from the result that 3% shade have a higher wash fastness than 1% shade.

Keywords: Cotton fabrics, dye, phenol-formaldehyde finishing