Investigation of the Usage Characteristics of Environmentally Friendly Water-Repellent Chemicals on Cotton Fabrics: Improving sustainability of surface coatings

Abstract

Fabrics with water-repellent properties are widely valued in the textile industry. It is known that fluorocarbon compounds, which are widely used for this purpose, are harmful to the environment. Therefore, within the scope of this study, a water-repellent chemical that does not contain fluorocarbon compounds was used to treat 100% cotton fabrics and compared with fluorocarbon compounds. The results show that the environmentally friendly chemical is at least as effective as the fluorocarbon compounds. According to the spray test, water repellency at ISO 5 level was obtained. In addition, the fabrics’ usage properties were assessed and high water vapour permeability, air permeability and low bending stiffness (280 mg cm) were obtained. This has yielded important results in terms of sustainability and the potential for eliminating the use of fluorocarbons for this application.