In the past two years, the domestic textile market's demand for moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking textiles has gradually increased, which has attracted the attention of the industry. The use of moisture wicking fibers is pure spinning, or blending or interweaving with cotton, wool, silk, hemp, other chemical fibers and synthetic fibers. It can be woven or knitted and has good development prospects.
The moisture wicking fabric has deep dyeing properties. Because the surface of the moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking polyester has narrow grooves, the incident light can be diffused and absorbed by the fiber many times, and the reflected light can be reduced. As a result, the deep dyeing performance is greatly improved, and the vividness of dyeing and the deep dyeing performance are improved.
The moisture wicking fabric also has lower pilling performance. After Coolplus II is treated with NAO H5-7 g/L and refined at 100-120℃ for 30 minutes, the polyester will lose part of its weight due to alkali treatment (similar to alkali reduction), the fiber strength will also be reduced, and the anti-pilling ability can reach Level 3. For the above reasons, the design of the cotton roll should be tight to prevent the fabric from becoming too loose after washing.
Several problems in dyeing and finishing The dyeing and finishing process (pure spinning and blended spinning) of moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking fabrics can basically refer to the process flow and technical conditions of traditional polyester and polyester-cotton blended fabrics. However, the special structure of moisture wicking polyester fiber must be guaranteed not to be damaged, otherwise it will affect the performance of the product. The main points of concern are as follows: 1. Moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking polyester fibers are mainly shaped fibers, most of the surface has a fine groove structure, and the surface area of the same denier is 20%-50% larger than that of conventional round fibers. Therefore, high temperature alkaline treatment should be carefully considered in the pretreatment. 2. For the same reason as above, disperse dyes dye faster. Therefore, in order to dye cotton blended fabrics with good color uniformity, the raw cotton (or polyester) dyeing formula must be appropriately adjusted. 3. Hydrophobic fabric should not be used when it is soft, otherwise it will affect the wicking effect of the fabric and reduce its moisture absorption and perspiration function. Pure fabrics and blended fabrics can obtain excellent moisture wicking performance after being treated with moisture wicking agents. At the same time, durable fabrics should be selected. 4. The newly introduced moisture wicking agents are mainly compounds with water-dispersible polyester as the main component. The development of this additive can be traced back to Permalose, which was first introduced to the market by the British company ICl in the 1960s and 1970s. Among them, Permaloset is used for polyester fabrics, and Permaloset is used for polyester-cotton blended fabrics.
Water-dispersible polyester is a block copolymer of terephthalic acid (ethylene glycol) and polyethylene oxide. According to the molecular weight and melting point of the block copolymer, when the concentration is high, it is easy to disperse in water to form a dispersion and gel. The molecular structure of the water-dispersed block copolymer has the same benzene ring as the polyester molecular structure. At high temperatures, the molecular segments are anchored to the surface of the polyester, making the polyester change from an initial hydrophobic surface to a durable water-based surface.
There are two application methods for water-dispersed block copolymers, namely, the rolling-baking method and the high-temperature dipping method. The former requires heat treatment at 160-170°C for 3-5 minutes, and the latter requires heat treatment at 130°C for 30 minutes. The application rate on the fabric (based on the effective active ingredient) is about 1%-1.5%. The high-temperature impregnation process has a better treatment effect and a stable effect. After moisture wicking and finishing, it can not only significantly improve the function of moisture wicking, but also has the effect of anti-static and easy decontamination.