Finishing of silk by acrylic acid in the presence of sodium citrate and potassium per sulphate as catalysts under thermal treatment

Silk fabric was finished using acrylic acid (AA) as the finishing agent in the presence of sodium citrate and potassium per oxodisulphate catalysts separately or in selected combinations employing a pad‐dry‐cure technique. Treatment with 6% AA at 30°C and at pH 7 produced optimum effects; a batching time of 45–60 min at 30°C, followed by drying of the batched fabric at 95°C for 5 min and curing of the dried fabric at 140°C for 5 min produced most balanced improvements in the properties such as wrinkle recovery, extensibility, and moisture regain with retention of more than 80% of original strength. Sodium citrate catalyst allowed esterification of AA with proteineous constituent of silk and potassium per sulfate catalyst allowed radical polymerization of free AA or silk bound AA moieties; the said process ultimately led to some degree of crosslinking of the chain polymers of silk. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011