Low-Stress Physical/Mechanical Properties of Cochineal-dyed Cotton, Silk, Nylon, and Polyester Fabrics subjected to Chitosan-Pretreatment

Abstract

Chitosan has been widely applied to the products in various industries such as textile fabrics, apparels,foods, medical area, etc. Cochineal has long been employed as one of natural dyestuffs in the textileindustry. The effect of chitosan pre-treatment on the low-stress physical and mechanical properties ofcochineal-dyed fabrics including cotton, silk, nylon and polyester fabrics was investigated in this study.The chitosan treatment and mordanting of the fabrics changed the bending, shear, compression, andsurface properties of the fabrics. In cotton fabric specimens, while the increase of B(bending rigidity) ofcotton is relatively high, the increase of G(shear rigidity) of cotton is relatively low. In nylon and PETfabric specimens, while the increase tendency of B is relatively low, that of G is high compared to thecorresponding cotton fabrics.