New Approach for Improving UV-Protecting Properties of Woven Cotton Fabrics

This study evaluates the impact of certain finishing formulations, posttreatment with copper acetate as well as type of cotton fabric on the easy-care properties and UV protection of treated fabrics. The results detailed in this article indicate that (1) increasing the finishing agent concentration results in a significant increase in both the nitrogen content and the fabric resiliency along with a marginal improvement in UV protection factor (UPF) values, regardless of the used cross-linking agent; (2) incorporation of choline chloride (20 g/L) or chitosan (5 g/L) in the finishing formulation brings about an increase in the nitrogen content, a decrease in fabric resiliency along with an improvement in UPF values; (3) inclusion of PEG-600 or β-cyclodextrin as a polyol additive (20 g/L) has a negative impact on the % N and fabric resiliency along with a positive impact on UPF values; (4) posttreatment of the aforementioned treated fabric samples with copper acetate solution (5 g/L) causes a dramatic improvement in the UPF, regardless of the used additive; (5) addition of citric acid or butantetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), 20 g/L, to the finishing formulation enhances both the % N and fabric resiliency along with an increase in UPF values; (6) post-treatment of cross-linked cotton fabric containing carboxyl groups with copper acetate solution (5 g/L) is accompanied by a sharp increase in UPF values, regardless of the added polycarboxylic acid; (7) the improvement in easy care properties is governed by the nature of the substrate (i.e., mill-scoured, bleached, and mercerized cotton > mill-scoured and bleached cotton > gray cotton), regardless of the used finishing formulation and type of additive; and (8) the opposite holds true for the UPF values especially before posttreatment with copper acetate.