Mechanism Understanding Of Silicone Softener’s Impacts On Fabric Stain Removal And Whiteness Performance

Aside from giving textiles excellent softening, silicone softeners affect textile whiteness andstain removal. These side effects necessitate the modification of silicone softeners to lower theirimpact. However, little research has been done on silicone softener treated fabric stain removal.Therefore, in this paper, amino silicone and polyether silicone commonly used in the marketwere selected for a study on the influence of silicone softeners on fabric stain removal andwhiteness maintenance during home laundry. The contents and results of research are as follows:Part one: Study on the influence of silicone softeners finishing process on fabric stainremoval and whiteness. In the finishing process, not only silicones have influence on the fabricstain removal and whiteness, other finishing factors also have some influence on its. Commoncotton double jersey knit fabric is used in this study because of its popularity in the market anddifficulty of stain removal. Four common consumer stains are selected for cleaning testing. Thewashing method is to simulate the American family washing method. The difference of the K/Svalue is can be used to calculate the stain removal index (SRI) as fabric color change before andafter laundering. The finishing technology conditions of silicone were optimized. The resultsindicated that when the conditions are set at silicone concentration was6g/L, mangle expressionwas70%, the baking temperature was110℃and the baking time was80s, silicone softenershave a little influence on fabric stain removal and whiteness in home laundry. Then study thefabric stain removal performance improvement. The results indicated fabrics have a betterhydrophilic finish when FMES is used as an agent. When FMES was used in the OFX-8630amino-silicone emulsion process. The results indicated that the yellow clay removal indexincreased20.55%.Part two: Study on the influence of silicone softeners on fabric stain removal. Using fabricsurface energy, Si content, wash fastness and silicone-stain interaction, this paper analyzes thereason of the fabric stain removal during home laundry. It is observed that fabrics treated withamino silicones have reduced stain removal performance. While fabrics treated with polyethersilicones have improved performance than both amino silicone treated and untreated fabrics. The influence of the silicone on the performance of fabric stain removal can be concluded asfollowings:1) the higher the surface energy of silicone, the better is the fabric stain removal;2)cationic charges of amino silicones create strong interaction between silicones and stains, leadingto a poor stain removal index;3) due to silicone-stain interaction, stains may be washed awaywith silicone on fabric surface. Therefore, poor silicone wash fastness may lead to better fabricstain removal.Part three: Study on the influence of silicone softeners on fabric whiteness. CIE whitenessand removal UV whiteness were used to assess the fabric whiteness changing before and afterlaundering. The results indicated that the fabrics finished with amino-silicones have lowerwhiteness. The higher the silicone amino value, the lower is the fabric whiteness. On the otherhand, polyether silicones have very limited impacts on fabric whiteness. The ambienttemperature and humidity have some influence on fabric whiteness in the storage process. Thelower temperature and humidity, the better is fabric whiteness. As the temperature and humidityincreased fabric whiteness decreased. While the environment temperature and humidity had littleinfluence on fabrics whiteness on fabrics treated with polyether silicones. The influence of theamino-silicone on the performance of fabric whiteness can be concluded as following:1)amino-silicone decreased the fluorescent whitening agent intensity, and the maximum emissionof fluorescent whitening agent slightly shifts towards higher wavelength.2) The hydrogen ofamino silicone structure which can absorb onto the fabric surface is easily oxidized in the bakingprocess, resulting in decrease in fabric whiteness. However, polyether silicone softeners havelittle effect on fluorescent whitening agent intensity and its maximum emission as they were notoxidized during baking.This investigation of silicone softeners impacts on fabric cleaning performance will notonly provide opportunities for textile chemists to improve silicone softener finishes, but also fordetergent scientists to improve cleaning technology and detergent formulations.