PROCESS FOR PREPARING MULTIFUNCTIONAL MOISTURE MANAGEMENT

TEXTILES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to treatment for fibers and textiles, particularly relates to a process for preparing multi-functional moisture management textiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The behaviors of the liquid moisture transfer in the fabric in multi-dimensions named fabric moisture management properties, which is claimed to influence the wearer's comfort perception significantly by many researchers. Particularly, during the high level physical exercise with heavy perspiration rate under dressing condition, the liquid sweat on the skin is mainly absorbed by garment and transferred from fabric inner surface to outer surface where it is evaporated into environment or accumulated on the skin surface. Therefore, the fabrics with good moisture management properties where the liquid perspiration can easily transfer from skin surface to clothing outer surface to maintain dry feeling are extremely required in the marketing to manufacture high value added casual wear, sportswear or personal protective clothing, etc.

There were many prior arts can make fabric with desirable moisture transport properties. (Ref: 6,509,285, 6,432,504, 6,427,493, 6,341,505, 6,277,469, 5,315,717, 5,735,145, 4,411,660, 0064639 Al). Some of them are fully made from synthetic fiber via the method of knitting (6,509,285, 6,432,504, 6, 427,493), or cellulose substrate via fiber chemical process and non- woven manufacturing process (0064639 Al), Some of them has a multi-layer structure design (6,277,469, 5,315,717, 4,411,660) or/and to manufacture products of the garment using the fabric with moisture management properties (5,269,720 Moisture managing brassiere, 5,291,617 Moisture management garment). The US patent application 09/759,241, "Composite Textile Material", disclosed an integrated composite structure with different distributions of hydrophobic or hydrophilic points/areas on the two surfaces to achieve moisture management effect.

Meanwhile, consumer research pointed out that most modern consumers are more and more interested in the textiles, which have the properties of comfort, healthcare and easy care. Many kinds of functional fabrics can be found on the market and are widely used in sports wear, high value added casual wear and uniform. United States Patent 6,685,956 disclosed a method of biodegradable and/or bioabsorable fibrous articles, which are formed by electro-spinning fibers of biodegradable and/or bioabsorbable fiberizable material. United States Patent 6,264,791

claimed methods for making high wet performance webs. Patent 6,241,933 disclosed a treatment of cellulosis moulded bodies to increase the UV absorption of solvent-spun fibers. US Patent 6,099,969 and 6,046,330 disclosed coating agent comprised amorphous titanium peroxide has UV shielding properties. Patent 5,484,453 related to improvements in the spraying of water-based treatment liquors onto textile materials, more particularly in the continuous treatment of web-form textile materials, the treatment liquors being sprayed in particular under the conditions of aerosol/superheated steam application. Patent 6,607,994 is directed to preparations useful for the permanent or substantially permanent treatment of textiles and other webs by comprise an agent or other payload surrounded by or contained within a polymeric encapsulated and nano-particle will form a chemical covalent bond with the fiber, yarn, fabric, and textile.

But no prior art has been found on use a series of nano functional materials, agents and processing techniques to treat the yarn and fabric to enhance the fabric moisture management property together with other performances, such as UV blocking, IR enhancement and Antibacterial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a process for preparing multi-functional moisture management textiles comprising the following steps:

~ Treating the yarn for the absorbance difference treatment and / or functions;

~ Fabricating textiles with special design of composite structure; and

—Finishing the textiles for enhancing the fabric's liquid water one way transfer properties.

The step of the absorbance difference treatment of yarn, which results all yarn with specified functions and some of yarn is hydrophilic and other is hydrophobic, wherein the said yarn is hydrophilic or hydrophobic yarn selected from cotton, hemp, and wool, silk or synthetic fiber.

In the above said step of the absorbance difference treatment of yarn, the treatment solution with the general recipe comprising the following components is used:

- Antibacterial nano functional material 0-20 g/L

- UV blocking nano functional material 0-10 g/L

- Stabilizer 0-3g/L

- Dispersing agent 3~6 g/L;

- Fiber surface energy modification agent 0-60 g/L; and

- HAC (Acetic acid) (98%) 0.2-5 g/L;

The unit of g/L refers to the weight of solute per liter of the solution, similarly hereinafter.

The antibacterial nano functional materials in the above recipe may be any antibacterial nano functional material used in the art including but not limited to, for example at least one of nano silver, ZnO, STK and Al ₂ O ₃ , etc.

The UV blocking nano functional materials in the above recipe may be any UV blocking nano funcational material in the art comprising but not limited to, for example at least one of nano TiO ₂ , ZnO, Al ₂ O ₃ and SiO ₂ , etc..

Dispersing agent can be chemical types of fatty alcohol/ethytlene oxide condensate with average molecule weight of 3000-5000, Polyacrylic acid with average molecule weight of 1500-5000, sodium salt-graft poly (ethylene oxide), etc.

Fiber surface energy modification agent can be hydrophilic or hydrophobic agent, including but not limited to, for example, fluorinated polymeric material, Fluororesin Emulsion, Fluororesin, Emulsion of Special Wax with Zirconium Compound, SiO _x Water-absorbent agent, antistatic agent, Enzyme, Urethane Polymer, Hyaluronic acid, Epoxy modified polyoxyethylene. poly-oxypropylene polymethylsiloxane, sulfosuccnic fatty alcohol etc.

Stabilizer is for stabilizing the system, which is not limited herein, and can be those usually used in the art. Preferably, the stabilizer includes sodium polyphosphate and Arabic gum, etc..

The above step comprises dipping the reeled yarn thoroughly into the nano suspension of the above said compositions at ambient temperature for 2-5 minutes, then spin the reeled yarn using a centrifugal machine, dry them in oven, 80~90°C for 3-4 hours.

Before the step of the absorbance difference treatment of yarn, the step of pre-treatment is optionally performed. If the original fiber/yarn has hydrophilic properties, the reducing absorbency treatment for partial of hydrophilic fiber/yarn is necessary. All the processes to modify yarn hydroscopicity from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, which is known in art, are suitable at here. Then, the absorbance difference treatment on the rest partial of yarn is performed.

If the original fiber/yarn has hydrophobic properties, the increasing wettability treatment for partial of hydrophobic fiber/yarn is necessary. AU the processes to modify yarn hydroscopicity from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, which is known in art, are suitable at here. Then, the absorbance difference treatment of yarn on the rest partial yarn is performed.

Wide range of natural or synthetic yarns can be used to manufacture the fabric with good moisture management properties. The principle of this process is to modify the water absorbance properties of the yarn to meet the structure design requirement in the fabrication stage. If the originally yarn is hydrophobic, the hydrophilic modification is needed, for example wool yarns. Otherwise, the hydrophobic modification is performed, for example the cotton yarn.

Details, when the yarn is hydrophobic, for example cotton without thoroughly desizing, the process optionally further comprise the step of pretreatment, i.e., the step of hydrophilic modification before the step of the absorbance difference treatment of yarn. Compositions used to treat the hydrophobic raw cotton yarn comprise:

~ Caustic soda 4-8% (owf("oriented weight to fabrics" , i.e., weight percentage));

— S odium metasilicate, nonahy drate 1.0-4.5% (owf) ; -- Sodium sulfite 1.5-4.5% (owf);

— Anionic detergent 2.0 ~ 5.0% (owf);

— Liquor ratio (water: additives (i.e., the above components)) 30-50 : 1.

Wherein, Caustic soda is preferred 5% (owf); Sodium metasilicate, nonahydrate is preferred 2.5% (owf); Sodium sulfite is preferred 2.5% (owf); Anionic detergent is preferred 3.0% (owf). Anionic detergents which show good property in high pH conditions are preferred.

The step of hydrophilic modification comprises soaping the yarn in a solution comprising the said compositions at 60°C-90 ^° C or boiling for one hour or more than one hour, and then fresh water washing.

When the said yarn is hydrophobic, especially for synthetic types, the process further comprises the step of pretreatment, i.e., the step of the hydrophilic modification before the step of the absorbance difference treatment of yarn. The recipe used here to treat the hydrophobic yarn is:

HPC-AC-SZ-001 5~10g/L

HAC l-3g/L or

DM-3401 10~20g/L

HAC l-3g/L or

WA-IC-HK-001 20-50g/L

In the above recipe, HPC-AC-SZ-001 , can be VARONIC LI-63 (Sherex US), belongs to the chemical type of Polyoxyethylene (30) glycerine mono and di-aurate, ethoxylated glycerides,or can be disodium salt of sulfosuccnic fatty alcohol poly-oxyethylene (10) ether monoamide.

DM-3401 are hydrophilic agent in textile finishing, belong to the type of Epoxy modified polyoxyethylene poly-oxypropylene polymethylsiloxane, and WA-IC-HK-001 can be chemicals of sulfosuccnic fatty alcohol types.

The step of hydrophilic modification comprises dipping the hydrophobic yarn into the emulsion with the said recipe, and then spinning the yarn, drying and curing.

During the step of pre-treatnient, the yarn can be additionally treated to have UV blocking and/or antibacterial properties by the addition of antibacterial nano functional material and/or UV blocking nano functional material into the recipe for the pre-treatment.

After the step of absorbance difference treatment, some of the yarn is hydrophilic, and other is hydrophobic. Then the treated yarns are used to prepare fabrics with the moisture management properties, which is named as the step of fabricating textiles with special design of composite structure.

To fabricate textiles with special design of composite structure

The woven/knitting fabric with good moisture management properties has specially designed structure on two surfaces. The fabric surface, which is used as next-to-skin, is defined as inner surface with higher proportion of hydrophobic areas or structure points and lower proportion of hydrophilic areas or structure points, and the opposite is named as outer surface with higher proportion of hydrophilic areas or structural points, detail technical specification please refer to another paten application "Woven fabric with moisture management properties" (US Patent Publication No. 20050101209) by the same inventor of this invention.

Next is the step of finishing the fabrics for enhancing the fabric's liquid water one way transfer properties. In this step, the woven/knitting fabric is processed to enhance the fabric's liquid water one way transfer properties, which is also named as the step of functional treatment of fabrics. During the step, the following compositions are used:

-- SiO ₂ 1.0 to 8.0 g/L;

—Acrylate polymer with Molecule weight of 800-1500 1.0 to 5.0g/L;

~ Dispersing agent 1.0 to 10.0 g/L;

~ Wetting agent 3 to 30g/L;

Wherein the said dispersing agent includes but not limited to, for example fatty alcohol/ethytlene oxide condensate (with average molecule weight of 3000~5000, ICI. ) . The said wetting agent can be fatty alcohol ethoxylate, polysiloxane sulpho-succinate, ethoxylate sulfate derivatives, etc.

The above mentioned compositions are mixed with water accordingly; Then, the mixture is treated by ultrasonic machine to ensure the suspension is well dispersed; Finally, the fabric is padding through the nano suspension with the weight addition of 60-70%, then drying and curing.

Before the step of functional treatment of fabrics, the step of washing can be optionally performed to increase the wettability of yarns. During the step of wetting finishing, the following compositions are used:

Recipe 1-5:

~ Caustic soda 1.0 to 5 .0% (owf);

~ Sodium metasilicate, nonahydrate 1.0 to 4 .0% (owf);

-- Sodium sulfite 1.0 to 5. 0 % (owf);

— Anionic detergent 1. 0 to 5.0% (owf). or

Recipe 4-2:

~ HPC-AC-SZ-OOl (Nano Sports Technologiest . Ltd.) i 2~6g/L;

—Sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate 2~6g/L;

— Sodium carbonate 1~3 g/L;

-Detergent AEC 2.0 to 5.0 g/L.

Wherein in the recipe, HPC-AC-SZ-001 can be polyoxyethylene (30) glycerine mono and di-aurate, VARONIC LI-63 (Sherex US), or can be disodium salt of sulfosuccnic fatty alcohol poly-oxyethylene (10) ether monoamide. Detergent AEC can be aliphatic alcohol polyoxyethylene ether carboxylic acid, sodium salt.

The step of fabric wet finishing comprises soaping the fabric in a solution of the said recipe at 80-85 ⁰ C for 1 to 1.5 hours; Liquor ratio 15:1-45:1, in alkaline condition; and then washing it in a bath of an anionic detergent, rinsing the fabrics, and then spinning.

To quantitatively determine the fabric moisture management properties, an apparatus named moisture management tester (Ref US 6,499,338) is employed.

The advantage of this invention is because it allows manufacturing the pure cotton woven/knitting fabrics with the good moisture management properties. Therefore, this invention can be wildly used in functional clothing application for the people to improve the comfort perception during wear, especially can be used for sportswear, causal wear, uniform and personal protective clothing. Such fabric process technique also can be used for the products for children, elder and disabled persons to improve their life quality.

The fabric structure design principle and yarn treated skill mentioned above can be applied to any kinds of yarn, such as made from cotton, silk, wool and synthetic fibers. The key issue is to modify the moisture properties of the yarn and determining the certain percentage of hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas (points) on the two surfaces of the fabric.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the structure of pure cotton denim fabric MMFSOl with good moisture management properties.

FIG. 2 is typical measurement result of pure cotton denim fabric MMFSOl.

FIG. 3 is a diagram shows after 50 times standard washes, the measurement results of the fabric one way transfer capacity and over all moisture management capacity.

FIG. 4 is a photo shows knitting fabric structure (MMFKlOOl).

FIG. 5 is a diagram shows typical measurement result of pure cotton knitting fabric

MMFKlOOl

FIG. 6 is a diagram shows after 50 times standard washes, the measurement results of the knitting fabric one way transfer capacity and over all moisture management capability.

FIG. 7 is a SEM Photo for PE fiber before treatment.

FIG. 8 is a SEM Photo for PE fiber after treatment.

FIG. 9 shows UV blocking testing result of example 12.

FIG.10 shows antibacterial testing result of example 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The process for preparing multi-functional moisture management textiles is presented in detail as following:

Example 1

To make cotton woven or knit fabric with good moisture management properties, the detailed recipes and process are described as follows:

Yarn pre-treatment.-^Yarn absorbency difference treatment-^ Yarn winding-^Fabric fabrication->Fabric curing-^ Fabric scouring (washing) -> Final product.

Yarn pre-treatment:

The principle of this treatment is to improve the absorbency of yarns.

Recipe 1-1 (a):

-- Caustic soda 4% owf ("oriented weight to fabrics" - weight percentage)

— Sodium metasilicate, nonahydrate 4.5% (owf)

~ Sodium sulfite 1.5 (owf)

~ fatty alcohol sulfate 5.0% (owf),

~ Liquor ratio (weight ratio of emulsion / fabric ) 50:1;

Process 1-1:

Soap the reeled yarn in the solution with above recipe of 80 "C- 90 ^° C for 2 hour or boiling (99 "C) for 1 hour; and then washing with fresh water three times.

This is an example to fabricate the pure cotton fabric with good moisture management properties. The nano functional materials used in the step of treating the yarn for the absorbance

difference treatment are employed here, the recipe in this step is listed as below recipe:

Recipe l-2(a):

— SiO ₂ (size 40 ~ 80 nm fine powder, Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 10 g/L, —Dispersing agent

(Matexil DN-VL, fatty alcohol/ethytlene oxide condensate with average molecule weight of 3000~5000, ICI products) 6g/L,

— Sodium polyphosphate 3 g/L, ~ WR-AC-SZ-002 (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 60g/L,

— HAC (Acetic acid) (98%) 0.2g/L.

Process 1-2:

Dip the reeled yarn (the weight of each package of the reeled yarn is about 200 grams) thoroughly into the nano emulsion at ambient temperature for 2~5 minutes, then spin the reeled yarn using centrifugal machine, dry them in oven, 80~90 ^° C for 3~4 hours.

The step of fabricating textile with special design of composite structure is performed . For detail technical specification, please refer to "Composite Textile Material", US patent No. US 6,806,214 B2, and "Woven fabric with moisture management properties" (US patent publication No. 20050101209).

Fabrics curing

During the curing process, functional molecule groups will react with fiber and forming a permanent combination.

Process 1-3:

For cotton fabric, curing temperature and interval is at 130 ⁰ C to 16O ⁰ C for 3 to 5 minutes, preferred 150°C for 3 minutes.

Wet finishing (scouring and washing):

The designed recipe for cotton pure cotton fabric wet finishing is listed as below:

Recipe 1-5 (a):

~ Caustic soda 1.0 % (owf),

- Sodium metasilicate, nonahydrate 4.0% (owf),

- Sodium sulfite 1.0 % (owf),

- Alkyl benzene sulfonic acid or the salt thereof 5.0% (owf).

Process 1-4:

The fabric is soaped in a working solution of 80-85 ⁰ C for 1 to 1.5 hours. Liquor ratio (means the weight ratio of working bath to treated textile material) may 15-45:1, preferred 30:1, anionic detergent can be chosen from surfactants, which have better performance in alkaline condition.

Fabric washing: Process 1-5:

Using industrial washing machine, liquor ratio 40:1, water temperature 60, Add 2% (owf) of the anionic detergent to the washing bath, the duration of washing procedure is about 20 to 30 minutes, rinse the fabric 4 times. Spin the fabric by centrifugal machine.

Functional treatment of fabrics:

For achieving satisfactory moisture management performances, the recipe used here for functional treatment is as below:

Recipe 1-6:

~ SiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 1.Og/L,

—Acrylate polymer

(Binder G-I, nonionic, Jitat Company, Hong Kong) 5. Og/L,

—Dispersing agent

(Matexil DN-VL, fatty alcohol/ethytlene oxide condensate, ICI) 1.Og/L,

—MIX 116 (ethoxylate sulfate derivatives, Maxintel, USA) 30g/L.

Process 1-6:

These material mentioned in the recipes are mixed with water accordingly. Then, the mixture is treated by ultrasonic machine to ensure the suspension is well dispersed.

Finally, the fabric is padding through the nano suspension with the weight addition of 60-70% (i.e. after padding, the weight of the fabric increased to 1.6-1.7 times bigger than original one), then drying at 70- 80°C for 5-15 minutes, and curing at HO ⁰ C to 180°C for 1-5 minutes.

The structure of pure cotton woven fabric with moisture management properties is shown in the FIG. 1 (Construction: warp 20s 80 ends/inch, weft 10s 64 end//inch). FIG. 1 is the structure of pure cotton denim fabric MMFSOl with good moisture management properties. FIG. 1 shows the fabric structure.

FIG. 2 is a typical measurement result of pure cotton denim fabric MMFSOl, with the structure

shown in FIG. 1. The water content on the fabric outer surface (UB - Water content on the fabric outer surface) is higher than it on the inner surface (UT- Water content on the fabric inner surface next to skin), indicating that the liquid water can easily transfer from the inner surface to outer surface, where it evaporates into environment.

The fabric's one way transfer properties (OWTC) and overall moisture management capacity (OMMC) measured by a moisture management tester after 50 washes are summarized in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram shows after 50 standard washes, the measurement results of the fabric one way transfer capacity and over all moisture management capacity. Comparing with the untreated fabric with same structure and content, as the untreated pure cotton yarn is hydrophilic property, and the liquid water is first introduced on to the inner surface. Therefore, the value of water content on the outer surface will equal to or less than it on the inner surface. Hence, the value of one-way transfer property of untreated pure cotton fabric is about equal to or less than 0.

Example 2

Except the steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned below, the other steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 1.

Yarn pre-treatment:

The principle of this treatment is to improve the absorbency of yarns.

Recipe l-l(b):

~ Caustic soda 8% (owf "oriented weight to fabrics" - weight percentage)

~ Sodium metasilicate, nonahydrate 1.5% (owf)

~ Sodium sulfite 4.5 (owf)

- Maxtel DNVL ( Manufactured by Dystar ) 2.0% (owf),

— Liquor ratio ( weight ratio of emulsion/ fabrics ) 30:1.

The absorbance difference treatment : Recipe 1-3 (a):

~ SiO ₂ (size 40~80 nm fine powder, Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 2g/L,

— Dispersing agent

(Poly (aery lie acid) with average molecule weight of 1500~3000) 3g/L,

- Sodium polyphosphate 6 g/L, --WR-AC-SZ-002 (Nano SportsTechnologies Ltd.) 40g/L, ~ HAC (98%) 2 g/L.

Wet finishing (scouring and washing):

The recipe used in this step is listed as below:

Recipe l-5(b):

~ Caustic soda 5.0 % (owf);

— Sodium metasilicate, nonahydrate 1.0% (owf); -- Sodium sulfite 5.0 % (owf);

— Ethoxylated alkyl phenols 1.0% (owf).

Example 3

Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned below, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 1.

Yarn pre-treatment:

The principle of this treatment is to improve the absorbency of yarns.

Recipe 1-1 (c):

~ Caustic soda 5% (owf),

~ Sodium metasilicate, nonahydrate 2.5% (owf);

~ Sodium sulfite 2.5 (owf);

~ Anionic detergent 3.0% (owf) ;

~ Liquor ratio ( Weight of Emulsion/fabric ) 30:1.

The recipe for the absorbance difference treatment:

Recipe 1-4:

~ SiO ₂ (size 40 ~ 80 mn fine powder, Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 3g/L;

— Dispersing agent (polyethylene oxide) MW 4000) 5 g/L; ~ Arabic gum 2g/L

--WR-AC-SZ-002 (Nano SportsTechnologies Ltd.) 50g/L;

~ HAC (98%) 1 g/L.

Arabic gum is used as stabilizer and assistance in emulsifying.

Example 4

Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned below, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 1. the recipe for the absorbance difference treatment:

~ SiO ₂ (size 40-80 nm fine powder, Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 3g/L,

~ Dispersing agent (sodium salt-graft poly(ethylenc oxide) MW4000) 3.5 g/L;

~ Sodium polyphosphate 5g/L,

--WR-AC-SZ-002 (Nano SportsTechnologies Ltd.) 50g/L

~ HAC (98%) 5 g/L.

Example 5

Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned below, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 1.

Functional treatment of fabric:

Recipe 1-7:

-SiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 8.0 g/L,

—Acrylate polymer Binder G-I (nonionic, Jitat company, Hongkong) 1.Og/L,

~ Dispersing agent

(Matexil DN-VL, fatty alcohol/ethytlene oxide condensate with average molecule weight of 3000-5000, ICI) 10.0 g/L,

~ Fatty alcohol ethoxylate

(Wetting agent from Aldrich chemicals) 3g/L.

Example 6

Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned below, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 1.

Functional treatment of fabric:

Recipe 1-7:

-SiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 8.0 g/L,

--Acrylate polymer Binder G-I

(nonionic, Jitat company, Hongkong) 1-Og/L,

~ Dispersing agent

(Matexil DN-VL, fatty alcohol/ethytlene oxide condensate with average molecule weight of 3000-5000, ICI) 10.0 g/L,

~ polysiloxane sulpho-succinate

(Wetting agent from Aldrich chemicals) 3 g/L.

The structure of pure cotton knitted fabric of this example, with moisture management

properties is given in FIG. 4 and the typical measurement results can be found in FIG. 5. The fabric's one way transfer properties after 50 times washes individually is summarized in FIG. 6.

Example 7

This example is to make pure wool fabrics with good moisture management performance. Hydrophilic modification must be applied as the intrinsic hydrophobic characteristics of the wool fibre. In the invention, characteristics of better absorbent property and better comfort are quiet important, so we use anti-felting wool as our choice, the specification of the wool top count may range from 60" s to 80" s.

Hydrophilic treatment for wool yarn:

The treated recipe and process are listed as below:

Recipe 3-1

--HPC-AC-SZ-001 (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 6 g/L;

~ HAC (Acetic acid) (98%) 1 g/L.

Process 3-1:

Dip the reeled wool yarn (70 ^λ s fine de-scaled wool) thoroughly into the emulsion at 50~60°C temperature for 2~5 minutes, then spin the reeled wool yarn using centrifugal machine, dry them in a oven at 80~90°C for 3~4 hours and curing at 120~130 ^° C for 2-3 minutes.

Absorbance difference treatment for wool yarn:

After some yarns have been treated hydrophilic, other portion of wool yarn should make hydrophobic to meet the demands for absorbance difference of wool fibre. The recipe for the step of absorbance difference treatment (or named as water repellence enhancement agent) is listed as below:

Recipe 3-3:

~ SiO ₂ (250<particule size <500nm Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 5g/L; ~ Dispersing agent

(Poly acrylic acid with average molecule weight of 1500~3000) 4g/L;

~ WR-AC-SZ-002 (Nano SportsTechnologies Ltd.) 50g/L;

~ HAC (98%) 1 g/L.

Besides yarn hydrophilic treatment and Absorbance difference treatment, other procedures in making wool fabric into moisture management will follow the steps of:

Yarn winding->Fabric structure design and fabrication-^ fabric curing-^washing-^functional treatment of fabrics.

For wool fabric, curing temperature and time is at 110°C to 140 ⁰ C for 8 to 4 minutes, preferred 130 ⁰ C for 5 minutes.

The designed recipe for wool fabric washing is listed as below:

Recipe 3-4

Washing solution:

~ HPC-AC-SZ-OOl (Nano Sports Technologiest Ltd.) 3g/L;

—Multinol C-24 (Shanghai Dayang chemical Ltd.) 3g/L;

— Sodium carbonate 1.5 g/L; ~ Detergent AEC 2.5g/L.

Process 3-3 Washing:

The fabric is soaped in 40~50°C working solution. Liquor ratio (means the weight ratio of working bath vs treated textile material) 30:1. Using industrial washing machine with pressing, the duration of washing procedure is about 20 to 30 minutes, rinse the fabric 4 times. Spin the fabric by centrifugal machine.

In this example, the recipe used here for functional treatment of fabrics is as below:

-SiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 4.0 g/L,

—Acrylate polymer Binder G-I

(nonionic, Jitat company, Hongkong) 2.5g/L,

~ Dispersing agent (Matexil DN-VL, fatty alcohol/ethytlene oxide condensate with average molecule weight of 3000-5000, ICI) 5.0 g/L,

— Fatty alcohol ethoxylate, polysiloxane sulpho-succinate (Wetting agent from Aldrich chemicals) 8g/L.

Example 8

Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned below, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 7.

Hydrophilic treatment for wool yarn:

Recipe 3-2

--DM-3401 (DEMEI Fine Chemicals, China) 15 g/L ,

-HAC (Acetic acid) (98%) 1 g/L.

Example 9

This example is to make pure silk fabrics with good moisture management performance. Absorbance difference treatment for silk yarn the recipe and process are as follows:

Recipe 4-1 (a):

-TiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 2g/L;

—Dispersing agent (Poly acrylic acid with average molecule weight of 1500~3000) 4g/L;

- DM-3401 (DEMEI Fine Chemicals, China) 30g/L;

-- HAC (98%) O.lg/L.

Process 4-1

Dip the reeled silk yarn thoroughly into the emulsion at 50~60°C temperature for 2~5 minutes and make sure the materials are thoroughly wetted, then spin the reeled silk yarn using centrifugal machine. Dry them in an oven at 80-90 ⁰ C for 3-4 hours and curing at 120~130°C for 2~3 minutes.

Besides absorbance difference treatment, other procedures in making silk fabric into moisture management property will follow the steps of:

Fabric structure design and fabrication->fabric curing->wet finishing(washing)->functional treatment of fabric (if needed)

Process 4-2:

For silk fabric (with weight higher than 200g/M ² ), the curing temperature and time is 110 ⁰ C to 130 ^° C for 4 to 8 minutes, preferred 130°C for 5 minutes.

For silk fabric (with weight lower than 200g/M ² ), the curing temperature and time is 110°C to 130 ^° C for 2 to 4 minutes, preferred 120 ⁰ C for 4 minutes.

Recipe 4-2(a)

Wet finishing solution:

~ HPC-AC-SZ-001 (Nano Sports Technologiest Ltd.) 2g/L,

—Sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate

(Centro Chino Fine Chemical (Hang Zhou) Co., Ltd.) 6g/L,

— Sodium carbonate lg/L,

~ Detergent AEC 5.0 g/L.

Process 4-3

The fabric is soaped in a working solution of 40~50°C. Liquor ratio may in the range of 15-45, preferred 30:1. Using industrial washing machine, the duration of washing procedure is about 20 to 30 minutes, preferred 20 minutes, rinsing the fabric 4 times. Spin the fabric by centrifugal machine.

Example 10

This example is to make pure silk fabrics with good moisture management performance. Absorbance difference treatment for silk yarn, the recipe and process are as follows:

Recipe 4-l(b):

-TiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) 10 g/L;

—Dispersing agent

(Poly acrylic acid with average molecule weight of 1500~3000) 5 g/L;

- WR-AC-SZ-002 (Nano SportsTechnologies Ltd.) 40 g/L; - HAC (98%) lg/L.

Process 4-1

Dip the reeled silk yarn thoroughly into the emulsion at 50~60°C temperature for 2~5 minutes and make sure the materials are thoroughly wetted, then spin the reeled silk yarn using centrifugal machine. Dry them in an oven at 80~90°C for 3-4 hours and curing at 120~130°C for 2~3 minutes.

Besides absorbance difference treatment, other procedures in making silk fabric into moisture management property will follow the steps of:

Fabric structure design and fabrication-^ fabric curing->wet finishing-^ functional treatment of fabric (if needed)

Process 4-2:

For silk fabric (with weight higher than 200g/M2), the curing temperature and time is 110°C to 130°C for 4 to 8 minutes, preferred 130°C for 5 minutes.

For silk fabric (with weight lower than 200g/M2), the curing temperature and time is 110 ⁰ C to 13O ⁰ C for 2 to 4 minutes, preferred 120 ⁰ C for 4 minutes.

Recipe 4-2(b)

Wet finishing solution:

~ HPC-AC-SZ-OO 1 (Nano Sports Technologiest Ltd.) 6g/L,

—Sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate

(Centra Chino Fine Chemical (Hang Zhou) Co., Ltd.) 2g/L,

~ Sodium carbonate 3 g/L,

~ Detergent AEC 2.0g/L.

Process 4-3

The fabric is soaped in a working solution of 40~50°C. Liquor ratio may in the range of 15~50, preferred 30:1. Using industrial washing machine, the duration of washing procedure is about 20 to 30 minutes, preferred 20 minutes, rinsing the fabric 4 times. Spin the fabric by centrifugal machine.

Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned above, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 9.

Example 11

This example is to make pure silk fabrics with good moisture management performance. Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned below, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 9.

Wet finishing: the recipe of this step is as follows Recipe 4-2(c)

Wet finishing solution:

~ HPC-AC-SZ-001 (Nano Sports Technologiest Ltd.) 3g/L, —Sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (Centra Chino Fine Chemical (Hang Zhou) Co., Ltd.) 3g/L,

— Sodium carbonate 1.5 g/L,

- Detergent AEC 2.5g/L.

Example 12

This example is to make pure synthetic fabric with moisture management properties, antibacterial and UV blocking performances. In this example, general polyester yarn with

hydrophobic behaviors is used. The process including:

Hydrophilic treatment for polyester yarn-> Absorbance difference treatment for polyester yarn->fabric structure design and fabrication -^fabric curing->fabric washing-^ final product

Partial of hydrophobic polyester yarns are treated by hydrophilic agent at first to make them with hydrophilic behaviors and with UV blocking and antibacterial properties, and the detail information about the recipe and techniques are as follows:

~ TiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologiest Ltd.) 2g/L

— STK antibacterial nano powder

(supplied by MINGRI Nano Material Co, ZHEJIANG, China) 20g/L ~ MC2A

(Al ₂ O ₃ nano powder, supplied by MINGRI Nano Material Co, ZHEJIANG, China) 20g/L ~ Dispersing agent (Poly acrylic acid with average molecule weight of 1500~3000) 4g/L;

~ Hydrophilic agent WA-IC-HK-OOl

(Nano Sports Technologies Ltd.) lg/L

~ HAC , pH is adjusted to 4~5

In the process, liquor ratio: l:15~30, preferred 25, adjust pH value at 5, keep work solution temperature at 60~90°C , preferred 8O ⁰ C for 30~50min, preferred 40 min. Preferable equipment is a rope dye machine or industrial washing machine. First of all, make the polyester yarns fully permeated and soaped, then followed by rinsing and drying and curing processes. Curing temperature and time is about 130~150°C for 2-5 minutes, preferred 14O ⁰ C ₅ 4 minutes.

Then functional treatment of the rest polyester yarn, the recipe is as follows:

-TiO ₂ (Nano Sports Technologiest Ltd.) 2g/L

~ STK antibacterial nano powder

(supplied by MINGRI Nano Material Co, ZHEJIANG, China) 20g/L

~ MC2A (Al ₂ O ₃ nano powder, supplied by MINGRI Nano Material Co, ZHEJIANG, China) 20g/L

~ Dispersing agent (Poly acrylic acid with average molecule weight of 1500~3000) 4g/L

-- HAC, pH is adjusted to 4-5

Except the procedures or steps and the recipe used therein detailedly mentioned above, the other procedures or steps and the recipes used therein are the same as example 1.

The morphology study of the synthetic fiber treated by nano material is as shown in FIGs. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a SEM Photo for PE fiber before treatment, and fig 8 is a SEM Photo for PE fiber after treatment. From the images, after the treatment, there are some functional nano particles can be found inside fiber and/ or on the fiber surface.

Following the standard AATCC 135, the treated fabrics have been washed 50 times and specimens for antibacterial and UV blocking testing were prepared individually after each wash cycle finished.

According to the standard AS/NZS 4399:1996, the testing results of treated fabric are summarized in Fig.9 Compared with untreated PE fabric the UPF value is around 50, the treated PE fabric rise to 100 after 50 times standard washing.

Fig.10 shows antibacterial testing result. As shown in Fig.10, after 20 times of standard washing, the fabric still show a satisfactory antibacterial property, the bacterial reduction rate are 97.5% for E.coli and 77% for staph.