Synthesis Of The Qaternary Ammonium Polymer And Its Antimicrobial Finish On Cotton

Cotton, a kind of important natural fiber, is widely used in clothing fields for itsexcellent properties such as regeneration, bio-degradation, softness, affinity to skin, andhygroscopic property. However, cotton fabric is susceptible to micro-organisms, such asbacteria and fungi, which may spread the diseases and affect human health. The purposeof the present work is to synthesize a water-soluble2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride hyper-branched polymer (HSDA-HTC).Then apply HSDA-HTC to the modification of cotton fabric to improve itsantimicrobial properties.A series of quaternary ammonium polymers (HSDA-HTC), derived ofamino-terminated hyper-branched polymer (HBP-NH2), were synthesized bymthacrylate, tetraethylenepentamine, dodecanoic/tetradecanoic/octadecanoic acid and2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride(EPTAC). Their possible structure werecharacterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) and Nuclearmagnetic resonance spectroscopic (1H-NMR) respectively. Dissolution characteristic,pH value, thermal performance and antimicrobial ability of the HSDA-HTC were alsostudied for their application in textile fields. The minimum inhibitory concentration ofthe HSDA-HTC aqueous solution is about50mg/l. As the length of the alkyl substituentchains becomes longer, the antimicrobial effect of the HSDA-HTC aqueous solution isbecoming higher. However, as the length of the alkyl substituent chains reached up tothe length of tetradecul, the antimicrobial ability of the HSDA-HTC aqueous solutiontended to be steady.The optimum finishing condition is to dip cotton fabric in2g/l HSDA-HTC at thetemperature of80℃, to roll it with pick-up at100%, and to dry it at110℃for5minutes. The finished cotton showed excellent antimicrobial effect and durability against Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus). The dyeabilityof the cotton fabric with reactive dyes was improved when there is no electrolyte.Modification with HSDA-HTC can also enhance cotton fabrics’ UV protective property,hydroscopicity and water absorption ability. Meanwhile, the modification has nonegative influence on the structure, strength and whiteness of cotton fabric.