A mild, effective, and green micro-dissolution treatment for wool fiber using choline-ascorbic acid NADES

Herein, we proposed a mild and effective approach for the surface modification of wool fiber using a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) composed of choline chloride and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), avoiding the unsustainability of oxidation methods and severe damage of enzyme methods. The results showed that the NADES could remove keratin-associated proteins partly due to the breakage of disulfide bonds with the retention of the protein’s main macromolecular skeleton and secondary structure, and the exposure degree increase of hydrophilic groups. Furthermore, the hydrophily, dye performance, and anti-felting properties were improved and met industrial standards. The developed method had apparent advances in treatment time, energy consumption, and chemical usage compared to present methods. This work contributes to the further investigation of NADES on the protein modification.