초록
The textile finishing methods utilizing chitosan have been mostly focused on the applications in the improvement of the dyeing of cotton fabrics, or the improvement of hand of the cotton or wool fabrics. On the other hand, it Is difficult to find the application examples in the synthetic fiber fabrics including polyester and nylon fabrics. The aim of this study is to improve the stiffness and the poor wash fastness of the fabrics treated only with chitosan. We tried to improve the softness by employing chitosan and polyurethane mixture solution and to prevent the detachment of the chitosan from the fabric. The treatment was applied to cotton, polyester, and nylon fabrics. The change of the properties of the treated fabrics were investigated. The optimum finishing condition was sought by changing the mixture ratio of the chitosan/PU(polyurethane) solutions. The adjusted ratios of the chitosan/PU solutions were 1 : 0, 1 : 0.25, 1 : 0.5, and 1 : 2 during the mixture solution preparation. Using the KES(Kawabata Evaluation System), the physical and mechanical properties of the finished fabric specimens were analyzed, and hand values of the specimens were calculated through the use of translational formulas. According to the chemical composition of the fibers, chitosan solution or chitosan/PU mixture exhibited wide range of coating effect. Since the chitosan acid solution has high polarity, the bonding force with the cotton fibers is high. By the appropriate addition of PU in the chitosan treatment of cotton, KOSHI and HARI values of the fabric improved. The air permeability of the chitosan/PU treated cotton fabric specimen improved, resulting in the highest value at the mixture of chitosan : PU=1:0.25.