Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PROCESS FOR PRODUCING HYDROPHILIC NYLON FABRIC
_
The present invention relates to a process for
producing hydrophilic nylon fabric in which the hydrophilic
nature of the fabric is reasonably stable to washing.
Nylon yarn has good mechanical properties, for
example strength etc., but its poor hydrophilic property,
compared to cotton, for example, makes its use undesirable
in fabrics used to make underwear or other garments where
absorption of perspiration is desired.
The production of hydrophilic nylon fibre is
known in the prior art. For example, Japanese Patent
application 53-70123 of K. Nishijima, published 1978 June
22, discloses adding polyethylene oxide to nylon polymer,
spinning the polymer to produce a fibre and thereafter
treating the fibre in fibre or fabric form with a compound
represented by the following formula:
R-o-(cH2cH2o)nH
where R is a saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon group or
alkyl phenol group having 8-18 carbon atoms and n is a
positive integer of 3 to 20.
The above prior art method for making
hydrophilic nylon fibre is satisfactory in instances where
the fibre may be conveniently spun from nylon polymer
containing polyethylene oxide. However, the method does not
appear to be intended for the situation where the nylon
fibre has already been spun from nylon polymer containing no
polyethylene oxide.
It has now been found that nylon fibre which has
30 ' been spun from nylon polymer, containing no polyethylene
oxide, may be made hydrophilic by treating the fibre in
fabric form with a nonionic surfactant of the formula:
C9Hl~o ( CH2CH20 ) n~l
where n denotes the number of moles of ethylene oxide per
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mole of nonylphenol anc1 wherein n is 9.
Accordingly the present invention provides a
process for producing hydrophilie nylon fibre, said process
comprising treating a nylon Eibre in fabric form with a
nonionic surfactant of the formula:
C9H19 ~ 0(CH2CH20)gH,
said surfactant having a cloud point in the range of from
53C to 56C.
As used herein, cloud point is the temperature at
which a 1% by weight solution of a nonionic surfactant in
water beeomes cloudy, i.e. a second phase appears, upon
heating due to the onset of insolubility.
In an embodiment of the process of the present
invention, the fabric is treated with a solution of 0.05~ to
1.0~, by weight, of said surfactant in water.
In another embodiment of the process of the
present invention, the fabric is dyed, and dried or heat set
and the treating of the fabric with said surfactant is
carried out after the dyeing step but prior to the drying or
heat setting step.
The present invention also provides a
hydrophilic nylon fabric, said fabric having been treated
with a nonionic surfactan~ of the formula:
C9Hl9 ~ O(CH2CH20)gH,
said surfactant having a cloud point in the range of from
53C to 56C.
In an embodiment of the hydrophilic nylon fabric
of the present invention, the fabric has been treated with a
solution of 0.05~ to l.0~, by weight, of said surfactant in
water.
In a further embodiment of the hydrophilic nylon
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fabric of the present invention, the fabric has been dyed,
and dried or heat set and the treating of the fabric with
said surfactant has been carried out after the dyeing but
prior to the dryiny or heat setting of the fabric.
Nylon fabrics of the present invention may be
manufactured from :Eibres of nylon polymers prepared from
polymerizable diamines and dicarboxylic acids, monoamine
monocarboxylic acids, or their amide-forming derivatives.
Preferably, the nylon polymers used in the present invention
are the homopolymers known as nylon 6, nylon 66 and
co-polymers containing the monomers of such homopolymers as
the major component.
The nonionic surfactant used to treat ~ylon
fabric to make it hydrophilic according to the present
invention is of the formula:
C9Hl9 ~ 0tCH~CH20)nH,
where n is 9. As is exemplified hereinafter, it is
important that n=9. For n=9, the nonionic surfactant has a
cloud point, as defined hereinbefore, in the range of from
53C to 56C. If n is lower than 9 the cloud point of the
surfactant is 30C or less and the surfac-tant is less
useful, perhaps because it is insufficiently soluble in
water. If n is greater than 9, the cloud point oE the
solution is at least 65C and the surfactant is less useful,
perhaps because it is too soluble in water.
The treatment of the fabric may be carried out on
the fabric or on sewn products made fro~ the fabric. Pre-
ferably the fabric is treated with a solution of 0.05~ to1~, by weight, of the nonionic surfactant in water. It is
preferred that the nonionic surfactant be added in the last
rinse or pad prior to drying or heat setting of the Eabric.
If the fabric is dyed, it is also preferred that the
treatment with the nonionic suractant follow the dyeing
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operation. T~e nonionic surfactant may be added
conveniently, at room temperature e.g. 25C-40C, after
dyeing of the fabric either in the last rinse or in a pad,
prior to the drying and/or the heat setting of the fabric at
a temperature in the range of from 150C to 205C.
The process of the present invention is
particularly useful for making knitted nylon fabrics
hydrophilic and hence suitable for use in underwear and
other garments where absorption of perspiration is desired.
Tha present invention is illustrated by the
following examples:
EX~PLE 1
A 150 dtex, 34 filament, semi-dull, nylon 66 yarn
was knitted into a circular knit tricot fabric. The fabric
was dyed according to a conventional method. The dyed
fabric was then dipped in a pad bath containing 0.1% by
weight solution (in water) of the nonionic surfactant:
CgH~g ~ O(CH2CH20)9H-
This nonionic surfactant is available from Domtar Inc. at,
104 Doyon Avenue, Pointe Claire, Quebec, H9R 3T5, as
IGEPAL* C0~630 surfactant. The cloud point of IGEPAL C0-630
sur~actant is in the range of from 53C to 56C. The fabric
was then wrung out and dried at a te~perature of 170C for 1
minute to obtain the treated abric.
The hydrophilic property of the surfactant-
treated fabric was compared to that of a fabric treated in
the same way except that no surfactant was added (control
fabric) by carrying out a so-called "wicking test".
Wicking Test
A 2.5 cm by 15 cm test strip is cut from the
fabric in both the length and width directions. A line is
drawn 2.5 cm from the bottom of each of the resultant two
*denotes trade mark.
-- .'.~L;2;,~L~ 6
15 cm long test strips. The bottom of each test strip is
submerged to the 2.5 cm mark in 25C distilled water. After
3 minutes the height to which the water has wet the ~abric
above the 2.5 cm mark is recorded. The average of the two
results is the "wicking height" for the fabric.
The IGEPAL C0-630 treated fabric was then
subjected to five domestic washings. Each washing was
carried out according to the American Association of Textile
Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) Test Method 61-1980 entitled
"Color Fastness to Washing (Domestic)".
The wicking test was also carried out on the
washed fabric.
The results are shown in Table 1.
Table 1
WICKING HEIGHT
(cm)
Before After 5
Washing _ Washings
IGEP~L C0-630 surfactant6.0 5.5
treated fabric
Control fabric 2.5 3.0
It may be observed from Table 1, that the fabric
treated with IGEPAL C0-630 surfactant according to the
present invention had a good hydrophilic property before
was'ning and retained most of its hydrophilic property after
5 washings.
EXAMPLE II
As a comparison, 150 dtex, 34 filament,
semi-dull, nylon 66 yarn was knitted into a circular knit
tricot fabric and the fabric was treated in the same manner
as in Example I except that in the formula
C9C19~0 ( CH2CH20 ) nH,
234656
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for the nonionic surfactant, n was equal to 8-9. This
surfactant is also available from Domtar Inc., as IGEPAL
C0-610 surfactant. The cloucl point of IGEPAL C0-610
surfactant is 30C.
The results are shown in Table 2.
Table 2
WICKING HEIGHT
(c n)
Before After 5
Washing Washings
IGEPAL C0-610 surfactant 5.0 4.0
_ treated fabric
Control fabric 2.5 3.0
It may be observed from a comparison of Table 2
with Table 1 of Example I that the fabric treated with
IGEPAL C0-610 surfactant (which is not within the scope of
the present invention) exhibited a poorer hydrophilic
property both before and after 5 washings than did the
fabric treated with IGEPAL C0-630 according to the present
invention.
EXAMPLE III
As a further comparison, a 150 dtex, 34 filament,
semi-dull nylon 66 yarn was knitted into a circular knit
tricot fabric and the fabric was treated in the same manner
as in Example I except that in the formula
CgHlg ~ o(cH2cH2o)nH~
for the nonionic surfactant, n was equal to 10-11. This
surfactant is also available from Domtar Inc., as IGEPAL
C0-710 surfactant. The cloud point of IGEPAL C0-710
surfactant is in the range of from 70C to 72C.
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The results are shown in Table 3.
Table 3
WICKING HEIGHT
( c ~)
Before After 5
. _ Washin~ Washings
IGEPAL CO-710 surfactant 5.0 4.0
treated fabric
Control fabric 2 5 3.0
It may be observed from a co~parison of Table 3
with Table 1 of Example I that the fabric treated with
IGEPAL CO-710 surfactant (which is not within the scope of
the present invention) exhibit~d a poorer hydrophilic
property both before and after 5 washings than did the
fabric treated with IGEPAL CO-630 according to the present
invention.
